Danger Makes the Heart Beat Faster
by CrazyLaviFangirl
Summary: Never again, will she rule my life. I am my own person, a ninja from the hidden Waterfall Village, and my voice will not be silenced. Life has it's up's and down's, and I was gonna prove that I could make it through them. Gaara X OC
1. Chapter 1

"It's not fair, mom, I want to chose my teammates. The fact that I'm gonna be the fourth member of some squad isn't even part of my problem. I'm not from this village, the kids in those groups have already made their friendships, I'll just be some stranger walking in on them."

"Stop complaining; it'll be over with soon enough."

I was too nervous meeting new people, it wasn't my fault I was so damn shy.

My name is Kaylyn Uzimo, a ninja from the Hidden Waterfall village. I had just moved with my family to the Leaf Village, into a large manor near it's outskirts. I have short, light brown hair, and big blue eyes that're the size of the sun in the afternoon and the moon at night. That's what my dad said. My eyes were what made me unique, it's what made my family unique.

We all had this brilliant shade of a color that determined which element jutsu's we'd chose to learn as we progressed. Obviously, I have chosen water, but the color of wind was undefined, so I had kept a balance between the two of them.

My Genjutsu was off the charts in my village, I was a master of illusions there, but then again it is a small village. I have great Taijutsu skills aswell, but Ninjutsu was my weak point. I had decent enough chakra control, enough so that I didn't waste any whilst I made clones or illusions, and so that I could easily send it to my fists, giving me great strength in those few seconds. I had enough chakra so that I could build up my strength enough to win a fight. I hadn't lost one yet.

I sighed, fixing the fishnets under my skirt, and straightening out my shirt, that rose slightly above my belly button. It had my familts symbol on it, a large sword through a flower on it. Our motto was "Believe in yourself, and believe in your friends." It wasn't great, like most motto's I'd heard some clans have, but it was good enough. I took great pride in my friends.

My friends that I wouldn't ever see again.

I sighed unhappily, pushing my hair back behind my ears. I was thinking about where to put my headband, which place did they wear it here? I settled on my waist, being sure to tie it tightly. There we go, all done. Now, to the academy. For the Chuunin exams.

I don't know why I couldn't just come with my team back home, but my mother insisted I be separate from them, and known as a Leaf ninja.

"The sensei you're supposed to meet is named Kakashi Hatake, he will be waiting outside of the entrance to the exams. This will help build your friendship with your teammates. Now go, you're wasting time."

I sighed. She didn't care, as long as I became what she wanted, she'd be happy. I'd gotten used to her, her constant pushing of my limits. Sometimes, sometimes I wondered what it'd be like if I didn't have someone like her constantly monitoring my every movement.

I stepped out the door, making sure my headband was securely in place before I headed off to the academy. I had told my mother I had to be there an hour earlier than I really did, I liked to be early. I was lost in my thoughts as I walked, I seemed to know where I was going however, so I continued to think about this village.

"Oof-" I felt the wind knocked out of me as I tumbled to the ground. The other person fell with a loud thump, the books they were carrying falling over them.

"Ah, I'm so sorry! Lady Tsunade made me check out all these books, I couldn't see where I was going." The girl apologized. A took a second to look over her. Pink hair, green eyes, small figure, and a headband on her head. Another Leaf Village ninja.

"No, it's alright. Here, let me help." I still had some time to kill, might as well help a possible ally. I picked up some of the books for her, they were all rather large and thick with text. I looked at the cover of a few of them, they were all on advanced medical jutsu's. As I followed her, I decided to make some small talk.

"So, you're training to be a medic ninja?" She nodded.

"Yes, I'm training under Lady Tsunade now. I'm not very tough, but I want to help my team! The only way I can do it is to learn these medical jutsu's, if only to help Naruto..." She sighed deeply, a troubled look showing in her eyes.

"Who's Naruto?" Who is she? She hadn't even introduced herself yet. Suddenly she stopped, a flushed looking coming on her face.

"I didn't even introduce myself! I'm becoming as rude as Naruto. My name is Sakura Haruno, it's nice to meet you!" Sakura forced a smile. I kind of shrugged.

"I'm Kaylyn Uzimo, I just moved here from the Waterfall Village." She looked over at you curiously.

"I've never met anyone from the Waterfall Village, they don't seem to have many ninja."

"Yeah, we're kind of small, and we usually produce a small amount of ninja, due to our size. Some of us are pretty decent." She nodded. We'd traveled threw a hallway, and were at the end of the corridor, when she knocked on the door. Someone yelled from within to enter.

I walked in with Sakura, following her lead and placing the books near a blonde woman, the Hokage I had just met the day before.

"Ah, Kaylyn, you're here again, is something wrong?"

"Oh, no Lady Hokage, I was helping Sakura-san with carrying books, she looked like she was having some trouble-"

The door slammed open, echoing as it hit the wall. A blonde kid, with an orange and blue outfit proudly burst into the room. Sakura suddenly looked frustrated beyond belief, smacking her hand against her forehead. Tsunade twitched in response.

"I NEED A MISSION!" I winced at the volume of his voice. "I'm sick of all these baby missions! I'm a ninja now, I deserve a good mission!" Tsunade glanced over at me before smiling.

"I have an escort mission for you." She stated.

"Really?" He smiled, rubbing his finger under his nose, "I didn't think I'd get one this quickly-"

"Look over there, to your left." He did so, his eyes landing on Sakura, then me. He seemed to look me over for a few seconds. "I need you to escort her to the Academy, so her team can be chosen."

"Heh heh, I need to escort her so she can graduate, don't worry! I'm a ninja, I can protect you from the dangers in the village!" I twitched. He was seriously mocking me! As if I wasn't already a ninja!

"I don't need your help, I'm already a ninja-" I pointed to my waist, where the headband was, or was supposed to be. "Ah! I must've dropped it, I knew I can't tie that damn thing right." You felt a full blown panic attack start. "I've gotta find it!" I ran from the room, dashing down the halls as I scanned the ground around it. Where did my headband go!?

"Hey, hey! I have to escort you!" I heard the annoying one call from behind me.

"Yeah, well you can help me find my headband, too!" I yelled back, not slowing down as jumped down the steps, looking all around for my headband. I glanced back and forth, it was nowhere near here.

"Hold it!" I stopped abruptly as he suddenlt appeared in front of me, holding his hand up. "I'm Naruto Uzamaki, next hokage of the Leaf Village! Believe it!"

"I"ll believe it if you find my headband." I stated coldly. My mother would KILL me if she found out that I'd lost it! A ninja doesn't just lose their headband like this! Naruto grinned.

"I can find it!" I watched him perform a few seals, before five more of him appeared. Oh god, I thought, now there's six of him. Just kill me now. "We're out to look for a headband! It looks like...uh..."

"It has the Waterfall Village sign on it, it has black cloth, it's about this long-" That's all I could really use to described to my headband. The clones all nodded, going off in different directions. I sighed, collapsing onto the ground tiredly. "My mom's gonna kill me..."

"You never said what your name was!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry, it's Kaylyn, Kaylyn Uzimo."

"Okay! So, while they're looking for your headband, we've gotta go to the Academy! Maybe Iruka-sensei could take me out for some ramen afterward!" He exclaimed excitedly, laughing to himself. "Let's go, it's this way!" He grabbed my hand, pulling me up and forcing me after him. I sighed.

Already, the Leaf Village was taking my breath away. I wonder how many more colorful people I'd meet today?


	2. Chapter 2

"Ahhh." A man with a scar across his nose smiled warmly at me, organizing some papers on his desk. He certainly was cute... "You're the student from the Waterfall Village, correct?" I nodded wordlessly. "Well, your papers said that you passed your exams back home, the problem is assigning you to a group..." I nodded again.

He was _ireally/i_ cute. Naruto was scowling unhappily, his arms crossed as he waited for Iruka to say something. If I was right, he was jealous that I kept staring at him. I couldn't help it, he's too cute for words. I grinned at Naruto, who looked surprised for a second before turning away quickly and blushing.

"I suppose we should put you with Naruto, as you seem to already know two of the team. However..." He looked over at Naruto, who was still scowling. "You'll be a two man team, with Sakura and Kakashi." I stopped to think for a second. Kakashi was the name of the sensei, Naruto had filled me in on most people in Konoha by the time we'd finally arrived at the academy.

There was Team Kurenai, which involved Hinata Hyuga, a shy girl that always got nervous around Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka, one who Naruto seemed to have a standing rivalry with, and Shina Aburami, Naruto said he was odd and quiet.

There was Team Asuma, which involved Ino Yamanaka, a loud girl that constantly competed with Sakura, Shikamaru Nara, a lazy good for nothing, and Chouji Akimichi, a guy that had to lose a few pounds.

There was Team Maito Gai, which consisted of Neji Hyuga, Hinata's cousin and a large believer in destiny, Ten Ten, some 'chick who's good with weapons, and then Rock Lee, or as Naruto called him Bushy Brows, who was super fast.

Then there was the sand ninja's, of which Naruto had met at the yearly Chunin exams. There was Gaara, a strong ninja who'd tried desparately to kill Naruto and his friends, and focused on some kid named Sasuke, Temari, some girl, and Kankuro, some guy.

Naruto only seemed to be interested in describing Gaara to me. He seemed to be the most interesting out of the sand trio. Naruto was talking about how he 'knocked some sense into him', which it seems he does so rather frequently. I almost commented on the fact that he was rather loud and that someone probably wants to put him in his place, too, but I remained quiet and let him talk.

I liked Naruto. He was a good kid, a good guy. His ambition to become the next Hokage of the Leaf Village made me smile, he was so determined. I had never seen someone as determined as he was. Back in the Waterfall Village, the ninja's were mostly weak, feeble, some strayed from the pack, some dared to be different, but the others, they blended in with the feeble rush of the waterfall.

The point was, Naruto was refreshing. To hear someone like him talk about his ambitions, his goal in life, and to see him acting it out, it was inspiring in a way. It made me think about what I want to do in the future, what's my dream? What's my ambition? I couldn't answer that.

"Ah, but don't the teams usually have three members and a Jonin?" Iruka nodded.

"There have been some complications, however, Naruto is soon off to be training, and Sasuke has been deemed a missing-ninja as of a few weeks ago." Naruto seemed to freeze, his fist tightened noticeably. Iruka was quiet once more, shuffling around papers on the desk in front of him. "I'll be placing you with Naruto and Sakura for now, and when the next Chunin exams come up, you'll participate with Sakura." I nodded.

"Who's Sasuke?" I could tell from the tense look on Naruto's face that it was a touchy subject. He was a missing ninja...was he kidnapped? Did he leave of his own free will? 

"He's a jerk who doesn't care enough about anyone to respect them, all he cares about is power! He doesn't understand how important friends are!" Naruto shouted angirly. He was gathering attention from all the people around us.

"Naruto-kun, hush!" He stopped suddenly, his cheeks turning pink. I tilted my head to the side. Why was he blushing?

"Why're you blushing?"

"N-No reason!" Naruto? Nervous? I smiled playfully.

"Is it because I said Naruto-kun?"

"No! It's not! Beleive it!" I laughed. Whatever you say, Naruto. I couldn't help but smile as we walked back to Tsunade-sama's office. It was silent once more, which was a rare thing to have around Naruto. As soon as I get here two of my teammates have disappeared. Naruto off to training, and Sasuke, a traitor who craves power.

"Oi, stop being so quiet, it's unnerving." Naruto looked at me, surprised.

"Usually people tell me to shut up-"

"Oh? Well maybe those people like silence, but I certainly don't. Why don't you tell me more about yourself?" He was silent again.

"I, well, I gotta go train, actually, we can talk more later!" Naruto cheered up by the end of his sentence. I was surprised. He was completely avoiding the subject for some reason. I cluelessly looked at him, and watched until his orange and blue clothing disappeared into an area labeled 'Training Grounds.'

Now I was once again on my own, and I had to find my way home, alone. It was too quiet, night fell too quickly for me. I nervously made my way home. My mother was waiting, of course, an annoyed look on her face.

"What took you so long!"

"Sorry, I was walking around with Naruto-"

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yes, him. You know him-" 

"You are never to speak with that beast again."

"Beast?" Had she just called Naruto a beast? Beasts were scary monsters, evil, vile, creepy, disgusting creatures. I stopped to think to myself for awhile, what was it that Naruto had said about him and Gaara...

i"Me and him have a lot in common, we're both seen as beasts by the people in our villages. The only difference was, I found friends and people who cared about me, he didn't. I showed him what my friends mean to me, I told him, and I think he finally understands, or he's beginning to./i

"Monster?"

"You will not befriend the Nine Tailed Fox, you don't dare do so. Go to your room, you need energy for tomorrow." She pointed a narrow finger upstairs, I didn't feel like fighting tonight, I just moved upstairs to my room.

It was empty, except for two pictures and a drawing on my bed that I had yet to unpack from the box that held most of my belongings. The bedsheets covering my bed were a light purple with darker purple lining, and one soft blue pillow. I plopped down onto the pillow, sighing as I felt threw the box for the pictures. My hand slid against the metal frame of one and I pulled it out to look at it.

It was of my father, Muzuki Izumo. He was handsome man, we looked nothing alike. He had the most beautiful steely green eyes, his dark hair was matted against his forehead. He was standing with his old sensei, smiling as if he were still alive. He died when I was three, it wasn't enough time for me to get to know him, but it didn't mean I wasn't attached to him. He was more carefree than my mother could ever hope to be.

The next picture was of me and my team. This one certainly brought back memories. Sayune and Miyuki, two of the most important people in the world. My sensei, nicknamed 'the Barricuda' due to his ability to tear through enemies with his katana, was smiling, showing off his handsome side. Sayune had her long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, her smile was nearly blinding. Miyuki was her twin sister, with hair just as long, but pulled into pigtails. The difference between the two of them were their eyes. Miyuki's were a brilliant purple, while Sayune's red eyes were glowing with sadism.

I felt around again for the drawing, and pulled it out. This always brought a smile on my face. My mom said it was from when I made my very first friend, me and him had drawn this together. It was after we were arranging the funeral for my father, we had traveled to the Sand Village to visit the Kazekage, of whom my father was close friends with. I had been sent out on my own, a drawing pad and colored pencils the only weapons I had, and explored the city.

None of the kids would play with him. He was standing alone, holding a ball and crying to himself. I felt bad for him, even though I'd seen all those kids run away from him a few minutes early. I approached him and asked him what's wrong. He was surprised at first. I told him I wasn't afraid, I didn't see why the other's were.

"I'm a monster, a beast..." That's what he'd said to me. I didn't listen though, I had plopped down in front of him and started drawing myself. It was a stick figure with my hair and eyes. I handed him a pencil, pointing to the paper and demanding him to draw. He frowned, sitting down in front of me and doodling. He started with his red hair, leading down to the black circles around his eyes. We couldn't quite find the right color for his eyes, they were such a pretty color, I loved them.

We forgot the arms, and I noticed that halfway through. I smiled, taking the black colored pencil from his hand and drawing arms for the two of us. The two lines came together at the center of the paper. He seemed flushed at this.

i"They're...holding hands."/i He'd said he'd seen some couples around the village hold hands, but he didn't know what it felt like. He looked down at the picture, pink still dusting his cheeks. I asked him if he wanted to know what it felt like, before I slowly reached over and held his hand.

His eyes widened considerably, I guess he wasn't used to people touching him. His hand was soft, and I gave him a reassuring squeeze. Sand began to rise around us, it worried me so I pulled closer to the boy. He seemed just as confused, as the sand swirled around us, I wasn't scared. I revelled at the sight of it, amazed. I was a brave kid.

I heard my mother calling my name, calling out to me for it was time to come home. The boy looked really sad after that, I introduced myself really quickly, but he'd never gotten to give me his name. My mother snatched me away before he could say anything. I made sure to hide the picture from her, if I hadn't, she would've ripped it to shreds. She said the same thing about him as she did Naruto. A monster. A demon.

I placed the picture under my pillow, closing my eyes. Sometimes when I did this, I dreamt about him, his face. I imagined him older. But he was always alone. Sometimes he was surrounded by dead bodies. Sometimes blood would be mixed in with the sand around him. Lately, those dreams had diminished. People rose from the sand now, he had two shadowed figures by his side, and this light that he was walking toward.

I'm not sure what it was all about, I just knew these dreams always seemed to make me think. I drifted off to sleep, ready to dream about my first friend, my first crush, as I drifted off, my thoughts landed on my new life, and the Sand Village. He was probably still there, maybe I could convince my mother to go there someday...


	3. Chapter 3

I stretched, yawning tiredly. I really didn't feel like moving from my bed this morning. I tiredly glanced over in the mirror that hung on my wall, sighing as I tried to flatten out my hair. I lazily swung my legs over the side of the bed.

I didn't have a dream last night.

I'd have a dream every single night since I met that kid, but tonight, there was nothing. Maybe my dreams had nothing else to tell me. I sighed, wishing I'd actually gotten the kids damn name. I was so hung up on knowing who he was, I didn't hear my mother knock on the door.

"Kaylyn Uzimo! Get out here now!" I jumped. It was best to listen when she talked. I pulled the brush through my hair, tossing it back onto my bed and running downstairs. My mother was standing, annoyed, with her hands on her waist in the living room. I glanced behind her, seeing a figure behind her.

"Naruto-kun!" I exclaimed, surprised. My headband hung from his hand.

"Yeah, one of my clones found it," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, handing me the headband. Ah! He found it! I almost squealed and I attacked the Naruto in a hug.

"Thank you so much!" Then I remembered the reason why I had to find the headband. I glanced back at my mother, who was glaring hard at Naruto. He could tell she didn't want him in her house anymore. He scowled, like he knew something I didn't, they both did, before he left. I turned to my mother, receiving a hard slap in the face. I tumbled to the ground in surprise.

"You lost your headband!? What kind of ninja are you, losing your headband! If you're to become a ANBU you need to heighten your senses, if you can't even keep track of your headband, how're you going to reach your dreams!"

"These aren't my dreams, they're YOURS."

"Don't talk back to me." There was an icy silence. "Get dressed. You're going to the training grounds today and I will not let you back in the house until noon. You'll have one hour to come home and eat, then you'll be training again. Then, you'll come home once more and show me a new jutsu that you've learned. Then you may eat if I find it acceptable enough, and you may sleep in your own bed, once more if the jutsu is acceptable. You have ten minutes until breakfast. Go."

I frowned, turning away and grabbing my throbbing cheek as I walked up the stairs. I let out a sigh as I entered my room, locking the door and walking over to my closet. My one outfit rested inside, along with Kunai, exploding tags, needles, and other accessories needed. She expected me to train all day, with no rest, when I barely knew my way around town.

My purse had some money in it, maybe I'd eat something from one of the stores around here before going home. I had learned from past experience that she was serious. She'd clear the house of all food if I hadn't learned a jutsu. She didn't think it was extreme, she thought it was making a point, the point that I need to get more powerful everyday or she would disown me.

"That'd be my wish..." i murmured, grabbing my headband and stuffing it in my pocket. I wasn't going to be able to tie it correctly, might as well get some help from Naruto.

Naruto...

"I'm leaving." I stated calmly, being sure to slam the door and disturb her peaceful silence for a few seconds. I could practically see her fuming through the door. The town was full today, there were hundreds of people walking through town. I felt even more lost than normal.

"Hey-" I stopped abruptly as the sound came from behind me, accidentally causing me to ram into Naruto. "Oof-" I would've fallen if Naruto hadn't managed to grab my arm.

"Oh, I need your help!" I cried out before grabbing the headband from my pocket. Naruto grinned, tying it around my waist for me. "Now, are you gonna tell me about yourself or what?" He frowned abit, rubbing his head once more.

"I don't want you to think differently of me, but then again, I've already managed to make friends-" He was arguing with himself now.

"Just tell me." I gasped out, exhausted. I was so sick of lying. I wanted the truth, and I wanted it now. "What's so wrong that my mother has this grudge against you!" He sighed softly, something unlike him. We were walking to the training grounds, together, as I listened to his story. His story sounded just like that little boys, but I'd never seen Naruto in my dreams before.

"The nine tailed fox..." I remember my father telling my mother about it, though vaguely, it still happened. She had screamed and yelled about it, crying about her relatives in Konoha that were sure to be killed due to this beast. My father had done his best to calm her down. "That's why people hate you, because of some demon that's sealed inside of you?"

"Yeah." He seemed strangely quiet.

"That's why you thought I'd think differently of you? Because of something that's sealed inside of you? It's not you, Naruto, have more faith in me." I smiled playfully at him. "I understand, I remember when I was younger about this little boy who was like that, too. People were so afraid of him."

"Eh? Where did you meet this boy?"

"In the Sand Village. My mother went there after my father had died, to tell the Kazekage."

"Sand Village, oi! I know someone-"

"Naruto-kun, Kaylyn-sama!" We both stopped talking and turned as Sakura appeared behind us. "We have an important mission from Lady Tsunade. Even Gaara and the rest of them have arrived to help us, we have to go meet her now!" Sakura seemed flustered beyond belief, something was really getting to her.

We ran to her office as fast as we could, running through the winding halls was tiring. Sakura didn't ask before knocking on the door this time, instead she entered, with Naruto following suit. A strong force pulled me back, making me turn to the side. The world was in black and white for a second, a large black spot appeared in the wall beside me. I felt like I was being sucked into it, my happiness, my hopes. I managed to pull away, entering the room, followed by two more ninja.

I ignored the stares of the twelve people staring at me, instead hurriedly walking to Naruto's side.

"We have an urgent mission for you twelve. It appears a missing ninja has appeared over Konoha's boundaries, making it our responsibilities. We'd send out ANBU, but they're all tied up on missions of their own in other countries. I think that all of you should do well with this mission." She briefed us on the mission then.

An escapee from the Sand Village, a person who'd killed a hundred ninjas in one swoop, had begun killing animals and small creatures around the forest. He'd been spotted various times, and it had been brought to her attention. We were to set out and capture him, and do anything it took to bring him down. I wasn't nervous about this.

My mother was always pushing me to do things. By the time I was ten years old, I had done over 20 D-Rank missions, and 10 C-Rank. By the time I was twelve and had moved to Konoha, I had over 50 missions under my belt, more than 15 B-Rank, 3 A-Rank, and 1 S-Rank. I had other people around, obviously, but it was still my mission, I had helped with every single one of them, thus I was given credit. This had me pumped with excitement.

"YEAH!" Naruto exclaimed happily, "FINALLY, A MISSION WHERE I CAN PROVE MYSELF!" A shy girl standing in between the boy with a dog in his jacket, and one with shirt that covered his face, blushed as she glanced at him. Oi, this is the rookie nine of Konoha, right? Then that must be Hinata Hyuga.

My eyes rose up, meeting the three people with the Sand Village mark upon their headbands. The one on the end had weird purple make up on his face, his outfit made it look like he had cat ears. The girl on his side looked serious, her dirty blonde hair tied into four ponytails. The boy standing in between them had brillant red hair, with dark lines covering his eyes. A symbol was tattooed about his head, almost hidden by his hair. Almost.

Love... Why would he have that tattooed on his head? And why's he so familiar? I looked forward at Tsunade, who was making the groups.

"I've arranged you all so that you have one healer, one fighter, and one navigator on your team-" The teams had three members each. Team one was Hinata, Naruto, and Kiba. Team two was Shikamaru, Temari, and Shino. Team three was Kankuro, Gaara, and me. Team four was Choji, Ino, and Sakura. We were told to camp around the perimeters of the forest, we were all to meet at 5 tomorrow on the edge of town, where we'd be given our positions and set up camp.

Sakura seemed more nervous then usual. As we were dismissed, she pulled me aside.

"You're alright with them two, right? They're pretty intimidating, especially Gaara, but I'm sure they won't hurt you. If anything, the Chuunin exams showed how powerful they are."

"Gaara's the fighter, Kankuro's the navigator, and I suppose I'm the healer?" I could think of a million jutsu's that could use. I was trying to think of the one that would use the least amount of chakra, when I heard a commotion in front of us. The guy in all black was looking me over. I twitched, he was just like Naruto when I had first met him.

"Do you need something?" I asked cooly. He grinned.

"Feisty, eh? I'm Kankuro, I don't believe we've met before."

"We haven't. I just moved here from the Waterfall Village." I replied. "Kaylyn Uzimo, nice to meet you." I didn't lift my monotone voice, I couldn't care less about people I'd never be able to see again. My eyes shifted over to the red haired boy who was standing silently, with a giant gourd on his back, I wondered if it hurt frequently.

"This is Gaara." Kankuro pointed to him.

"Oh-" I wanted to say I know. He was just that familiar to me. I looked at him, studying his face a little more. I leaned closer, only a few inches from his face now, where I looked at the symbol on his head. It couldn't be that little boy I had met years ago, he hadn't had a symbol on his head, I would've noticed. Sakura and Kankuro were watching with all as I scrutinized Gaara, apparently he usually didn't let people close to him. "Couldn't be..."

"Eh?" Sakura gave me a questioningly look. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I thought he was this kid I met in the Sand Village when I was younger, but never mind." I waved my hand, walking towards Sakura. "I'm supposed to be training right now, mom's gonna kill me if I don't learn something new today..."

"Why don't I teach you an easy healing technique, since you're the medic for your team? She suggested. I nodded, it would fill up the time. My mission started tomorrow after all. I followed Sakura off to the library, where she began to teach me. She taught about chakra control, even though I knew how to control it well, I sat and listened. This was definetly a time waster. We got to the medical jutsu, one I'd never performed before.

"YES!" I exclaimed happily. It had caused me much more frustration than it was worth, but I was satisfied. "I did it!" Sakura was smiling at me, probably questioning why I was so excited. This meant that I could eat tonight! Speaking of...

"Ah!" I cried out in surprise as I looked at the clock. It was well past 5, I hadn't even gone home for lunch. My stomach growled unhappily at me. I sighed, at least I'd learned a new jutsu to show her. "I have to go, Sakura-san, thank you." I bowed respectfully, turning and running from the library.

I got home soon, where my mother was waiting.

"Where were you during lunch?" She asked offhandedly as she set the table.

"I was getting briefed on my mission and then I learned my new jutsu you wanted."

"A mission?"

"Yes. I'm to meet everyone tomorrow at 5." I sighed as some food was set in front of me.

"Good girl." I grinned, happily digging into my meal. I hadn't eaten all day, literally. I was in such a hurry this morning that I had to run out before my mother could complain anymore. I wondered why she hadn't destroyed my self esteem already. I finished, washing the bowl in the sink and heading upstairs. When my dad was alive, we'd sit down there until all of us were done, and then we'd lay around together. I didn't wait for her anymore, and she wouldn't wait for me. We'd go our separate ways. The only time I hear from her anyway is if she's upset or angry over something.

She sent me to bed without forcing me to show her what I had learned. I was relieved, I couldn't think of a way to show her the new medical jutsu. I just wanted to sleep, using that much chakra in one day was dangerous to my health. In fact, it made me feel sluggish and tired, I was surprised I had made it home on time.

I flopped onto my bed, untying the headband and placing it beside my pillow. That boy from before, he looked oddly familiar. I sighed softly, running a hand threw my hair. I hated that feeling, there was something on the edge of my mind, ready to burst before my eyes, yet it wouldn't. I turned over in bed, staring at the blank walls.

This mission tomorrow, it'd be the first one I'd have with the Leaf Village. I wanted to show them how good of a ninja I was. I hoped I didn't mess up. It wouldn't surprise me if I did, things like that just seemed to happen sometimes.

And my two new sand village teammates. The weird one that wore make up and the oddly familiar boy. Lady Tsunade seemed to trust them enough, but Sakura seemed sort of frightened of them. Naruto mentioned some incident going on involving them, but it was only in passing and he hadn't ellaborated on it.

I felt sleep fall on my body, I didn't feel like staying up anymore. I sighed tiredly, once more the picture of that little red haired boy coming into my head.

"Gaara..." I murmured, before closing my eyes and drifting to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

I awoke the next morning an hour before 5, tired and forcing myself to move. I shivered, rubbing my arms as I turned to face the window that led to the balcony in my room. It felt as if someone had been watching me, but there was nothing there. My eyes scanned the area again carefully before I cautiously turned and entered the bathroom.

I turned the shower on, sighing in content as steam filled the bathroom. My mother was well asleep by now; I was rather pleased I wouldn't have to greet her before I left the house. She had taken it upon herself to gather my equipment last night; my bag was packed with an extra outfit, kunai and shuriken, a few scrolls, and other essentials. That left me with preparing myself in the morning and leaving to meet them at the village entrance.

I stepped into the shower, breathing deeply and relaxing my shoulders as the hot water beat down on my back. It was nice compared to the coldness of the house. Not even the thin blankets that I wrapped myself in could keep out the cold. I massaged my aching scalp, washing the shampoo from it before turning of the water.

I sighed, not leaving the warmth of the shower for the moment. My mind was stuck elsewhere, on a certain someone who I thought I had just met yesterday. I knew Gaara, his face was too familiar, and his eyes were just like that of the shunned little boy I had met in the Sand Village a few years prior. He had changed greatly. All people change, of course, but he had changed not physically, but emotionally.

He no longer had a friendly voice, instead it was calm and controlled, lacking of any emotion. Monotone. His eyes were blank, as if they had no true emotion. When they fell on me though, I'd seen a spark of conflicting emotions, as if something about me had struck him and caused him to be caught off guard. There was something about him that struck me as odd, like he had inner turmoil. I'd gotten the same vibe from Naruto at first; however I doubted the two were the same, personality wise anyway.

I suddenly remembered what Naruto had said to me, about the reason the villagers had shunned him. The nine-tailed fox being sealed inside of him, he'd said that he had that in common with Gaara. It was hard to imagine such small teenagers having large, powerful demons stored inside of them. I couldn't imagine the feeling.

I wrapped a towel around me tightly, walking over to the mirror and staring into it. Naruto would see himself staring into the mirror, just like Gaara would see himself. They wouldn't see large roaring monsters; they'd see the humans they were born to be. Maybe it was just the way I was raised, but I had no fear in knowing that either of them had something dangerous sealed inside of them. They were still people. They were human beings like the rest of us. People were the real monsters in this situation. Treating to good children like beasts because of circumstances they couldn't control…

My father had always said to not judge a book by its cover. To never put yourself above anyone, to realize we're all equal. He'd been good friends with many people; it was hard to imagine him having enemies. It had been him that had taught me all that I knew, of how to treat people, of what to do and how to do it, what to say and when to say it… He was my teacher, a sort of personal diary that answered me back if I had questions.

"Dad, if you can hear me now, please, send me an answer. Why are humans so despicable? Why do we treat others differently, when in reality they're no better than anyone else?" No answer came, of course. I sighed softly, using the towel to dry my hair before walking into my room. It was almost time for me to head out; I quickly put on my outfit and slung my bag over my shoulder.

I silently walked down into the kitchen, eating a piece of toast and few chopped up strawberries. Fruit always calmed me down before a mission; it gave me the energy to do as I pleased during the missions. My thoughts reminded me that this was my first mission with the Leaf Village; therefore Mother will be expecting me to make a good impression. What fun that would be.

I exited the house, tightly holding my bag to me as I walked along the empty streets of the village. I inhaled some fresh air, calming my nerves as I walked along. I neared the village entrance, seeing no one there, and sighed unhappily. Maybe they weren't as timely down here as we were in the Waterfall Village.

"…you're early." I jumped at the sound of a voice, staggering backwards and nearly falling. That was certainly a great first impression for whoever it was, after all, ninjas were always supposed to be prepared.

"Well, you're early, too." I replied to the disembodied voice. Gaara walked from behind a post and joined me. I frowned, looking him up and down before turning away. I hadn't noticed him sneak up on me at all.

"I know you." I was surprised; I hadn't expected him to realize who I was. After all, we'd met many years before, when we were both just children. At least I believed it was him, they had too many similarities to be different people, unless Gaara had a twin.

"Yeah…" I couldn't think of any way to reply. Silence ensued as Gaara and I stood and waited for the others. What else could be said? The situation was a confusing one, I had wished all those years ago that I'd see that boy again, by now my hopes of meeting him had died away and I had begun to move on, although he always remained in the back of my mind. He had always been there. I wondered if I had that effect on him, but quickly wiped the thought away, blushing.

"Hey, Kay-chan!" I smiled at the sound of Naruto's loud voice, turning to greet the blonde haired ninja. He was up and ready to go, it was obvious by the fact he could hardly remain still. Was he ever calm? Well his energy was certainly refreshing, I enjoyed his company more than I enjoyed my own mothers, what does that tell you?

"You know, we've never discussed YOU, Kay-chan!" Naruto seemed to completely disregard the quiet sand ninja and had his attention solely focused on me.

"There's not much about me to know." I shrugged my shoulders. "I live with my horrible mother who has very unrealistic expectations of me. It's sort of like, I'm her puppet." This had drawn Gaara's attention, it was apparent he was now listening to the conversation.

"What about your other family?" Naruto asked curiously. "You gotta have other people that are better than your mother!"

"Of course. Do you think we'd honestly be friends if I was anything like my mother? My father was a far greater person than my mother could ever hope to be. I was proud to be his daughter, he was pulling me around like the family pet, and he treated me as if I was an actual human." Naruto and Gaara stared at me, neither having any comments so I decided to continue talking. "I also had Sayune back at home. She was like my rock after my father died; she was more of mother to me than my mom. It's embarrassing to say I miss her, but I do. She was my best friend and now she's so far away…"

Naruto seemed to be thinking again, his normally bright blue eyes clouded over with memories of his past. Or so I assumed. Gaara stood silently by, his eyes could've burned holes in my forehead with how hard he was staring.

"That's about all about me that's really interesting." I smiled, waving my hand in front of Naruto's face. "You there?" Naruto snapped back to reality, grinning widely as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"S-Sorry. Anyway! What's stuck up your mom's butt anyway?" I smiled a bit; I had asked myself that question many times before.

"Not really sure. I'd always figured it had been my father's death that had affected her; she wasn't as bad as this beforehand. I think now that she has free reign to do as she pleases over me makes her happy, my dad would've argued if she had attempted to pick out my future, but without him around…"

"THAT'S STUPID!" I had no idea why Naruto had to yell, but he had and it had caused me to jump slightly and wince at the volume of his shout. People were still trying to sleep… "You should pick out your own future, she's probably just one of those old coots who had a miserable life and wants to live through her kid or somethin'! YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR THAT, BELIEVE IT." I smiled at him again, a light blush dusting my cheeks. No one had ever said anything so… So inspiring.

"You're right." I murmured. "But I could never live on my own. I can't-"

"You're mature enough, that's for sure. Not as bad as most troublesome girls." Someone commented offhandedly. We were joined by a group of three, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru. Naruto scowled a bit, not too pleased that we wouldn't be able to talk any longer, but he still greeted Shikamaru cheerfully.

"Well, thank you, I suppose. However, living alone requires something more than maturity."

"The will to do so?" Shikamaru asked, lazily tilting his head upward to stare at the sky. "Today would've been a good day to watch the clouds. What a drag…" Ino scowled, smacking his head in annoyance.

"We have a mission you fool! Keep your head out of the clouds and pay attention. You and Chouji better not mess up today!" Shikamaru scowled at the scolding blonde girl; nothing more was said.

Slowly the rest of the ninja began to gather at the entrance, until it was only the head sensei that was missing. Naruto and Sakura loudly complained that Kakashi was always late, stating that we could go out to eat and take a nap and he still wouldn't have arrived. They were right, as we had waited nearly five hours before the sensei popped up.

He greeted us cheerfully and briefed us on the mission, informing each of us of our location and the position we were to take. We would capture the fiend, and bring him back, dead or alive. Sakura didn't seem too happy with his choice of words, but she let it go, joining Ino and Chouji on the edge of the forest. Naruto looked at me sadly, he wasn't happy that he wasn't in my group, but he promised to look out for me. Him, Kiba, and Hinata gathered at a different part of the forest, while I slowly migrated to where Gaara and Kankuro were standing.

"Just don't get in the way, got it?" Kankuro ordered. I glared at him.

"Well excuse you." I retorted, I knew I was going to enjoy being on this team. Gaara said nothing; he simply turned and walked to the edge of the forest.

"Dismissed." And then we were all off.

Our position was deeper into the forest than what was comfortable, for me anyway. I didn't know these woods as well as I did the ones that were near my home in the Waterfall Village. It wouldn't be hard to get lost, they were large and many trees and bushes looked exactly the same. Hopefully Kankuro knew what he was doing, but then again he was from the Sand Village, why hadn't Tsunade paired me up with a Leaf Village ninja? I would've preferred Naruto to Kankuro any day.

The more time I spent with these two, hopping through trees in complete silence, I found myself missing Naruto and his cheery attitude. This mission wasn't one to be taken lightly, but I'd rather not be constantly thinking about dying when I could have a cheerful little blonde ninja to make me smile.

"Here." Kankuro pointed to the ground where the three of us landed. "This is where we set up camp." There were still pelts of the small rabbits spread around the open area, but most of the blood had been washed away and the body parts had been removed. I shivered, I couldn't imagine the kind of monster that would go around and kill poor innocent little rabbits.

I sighed, walking forward and kicking away any stray pelts from our camping site. Gaara stood with his arms crossed, watching as Kankuro put up the two tents. Of course I'd be getting my own tent, no way I'd be forced into a tent with two guys I hardly know… I frowned, my thoughts trailing to Gaara again. Did I know him? I mean, we've met when we were younger, but he's changed, I could tell from his eyes, his attitude…

"Oi! A little help here, space cadet!" Kankuro shouted at me. I begrudgingly went to help him, still not too fond of this Sand Ninja. The tents were pitched as dawn approached. Kankuro offered to go out to search for wood, neither Gaara nor I objected and with that he was off. I sat down in the dirt, beginning to build a little fire pit for him to place the wood in.

"Gaara-kun, could you possibly pass me a kunai? Mine are all in my bag…" I felt embarrassed that I had remembered to pack any in my Kunai pouch. Gaara seemed surprised that I had even acknowledged him; the sand swirled around him and reached into Kankuro's bag, it dropped the kunai in my hand before retracting back into Gaara's gourd. I giggled; it brought back memories from that day…

He was watching me carefully and his question caught me off guard.

"You're not afraid?" He had a sort of childish curiosity about why I was so relaxed around him.

"Naruto told me about… you. He told me about what's inside of you…" I wasn't quite sure how to answer his question. "But he said you'd changed because of him." I giggled again at Gaara's scowl. "I don't see why I'd be afraid of you, though. You haven't done anything bad to me."

"You said you weren't afraid before…" He murmured, his voice was hardly above a whisper.

"When we were kids?" I finished for him. "You remember?"

"It's one of the only happy memories I have." I turned pink, looking down and going back to digging the pit. Gaara didn't elaborate; instead he slid the gourd from his back and sat on the ground opposite of me. An awkward silence ensued; I wished Kankuro would get back with the wood sooner. Gaara looked awkward without the gourd on, he was small, and to me, he wasn't that terrifying. I wondered silently why he was put as the fighter of the group, Kankuro seemed much stronger than short little Gaara. I had to remember again what Naruto had said about the demon being sealed inside of him though…

Kankuro came back with wood, tossing it into the fire pit.

"Any of you know a good fire jutsu?" I frowned a bit, sighing as I realized he was basically asking me to start the fire.

"I'm mostly water, but I'll try…" I made a few hand signs before blowing fire into the small pit. I could only put a small amount out, it depleted my chakra twice as much when I tried to do any element besides the one I was born to use, but the small amount that had been made should do. Another silence ensued and internally I sighed.

It was going to be a long night.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was setting and soon darkness fell upon the camp. It felt even creepier at night, staring at the bushes and waiting for the rogue ninja to jump out and attack at any second. I was ready though. I was sitting around the fire with Kankuro by my side, Gaara sitting opposite of us. His eyes were so focused on the fire; he did look quite handsome with the flames dancing in his eyes. I turned pink at the thought and continued to play with the fire.

Kankuro was the first to go off to bed, leaving Gaara and I to watch the fire alone. Surprisingly, Gaara was the first one to break the silence.

"I'll take first watch." I looked at him with a frown.

"But you need rest, too. We all woke up really early." He looked at me, his eyes scanning my face for something; did he think I was messing with him?

"You need rest." He replied simply, his eyes leaving my face and going back to the fire. "I don't sleep."

"Well, that's all the more reason you need to sleep!"

"I…_can't_." He really must not enjoy talking.

"Why?"

"Because of this demon that I am. It will take over me, my body…" I sighed.

"I'm sorry." I kept forgetting about the demon sealed inside of him, why you ask? Because he was just Gaara to me. Just like Naruto was just Naruto. I didn't see anything within them; no dangerous entities were threatening me at the moment. I wasn't quite sure how to word it, but I wasn't afraid of him, nor Naruto. Maybe I should be, maybe I was putting my life in danger by doing this, by getting so close to two presumed demons, but I didn't care. Naruto's personality attracted me, Gaara and I had a connection I wanted to rekindle, he fascinated me as a child and he fascinates me now.

"Nothing to apologize for." He replied nonchalantly, the way his voice remained the same no matter what unnerved me a bit. He was completely emotionless, exactly the opposite of Naruto…

I pulled my knees up to my chest, watching the flames slowly begin to flicker weakly. Gaara used the sand to throw more wood in to keep the fire going. I smiled as I watched the sand swirl in the air before re-entering the gourd.

"Do you use that for everything?" I broke the silence once more.

"Yes." Gaara replied shortly.

"Why?"

"…" He didn't reply, in fact now he looked as if he was in deep thought. He never did answer; instead he focused his attention back onto the moon that was high in the sky by now. It was getting late and I could feel the effects of waking up early beginning to make me drowsy. Gaara seemed to want to be caught up in his thoughts, so I decided I'd leave him to it.

"Goodnight." I stood up and stretched, ready to enter my tent and sleep for awhile. I'd try to wake up in a few hours to check if he'd like to be relieved of duty. Gaara's eyes flickered for a moment, was that disappointment I saw? He didn't complain however, he simply nodded at me. I smiled a bit, climbing into my tent and quickly sliding into my sleeping bag. It was much more comfortable than that stupid rock hard bed at home. It was a relief.

It was weird, sleeping alone. I was always used to Sayune and Miyuki being cuddled up next to me, the three of us keeping each other warm. I sighed. I remember the first time I met my teammates. They were sisters, you see, and since I was one of the Uzimo clan, I never got out much. I was forced home to study and to gain control of my element, not many were allowed onto the Uzimo compound.

Sayune had scared me at first; her eyes were red and reminded me of the old fairytales my father would tell me so that I wouldn't sneak out of bed. The kinds with demons that'd eat your feet and slowly cut you open and eat your insides… Her personality was sort of out-putting, too. I'd never seen someone who would go so far to bend the rules to the best of their ability. She was a trouble-maker, incredibly loud, brash, and honest.

She was the opposite of Miyuki, who was much quieter and respected authority, never setting a toe out of line. The only thing they shared was the blonde hair that was a well known trait in their family. I took a certain shine to Sayune, not that I hadn't grown to care for Miyuki, too, it's just Sayune was more interesting to me.

She was beautiful and dangerous. She was everything I had wanted to be, she was a free spirit. She was lovely, charming, I wanted to be her. She'd begun to see me as a little sister, she became protective. It was sort of chain in our little group, Sayune was protective of me, and I was protective of Miyuki. Sensei had even stated that we were closer than most teams in our village got, we were 'something special.'

And look at me now. Something special alright, I'm separated from the two people who mean the most to me and stuck with the one who manipulates me. I can see how fair life was going to be to me. All these memories of them made my heart ache; I missed them. I missed everything about being a part of a real team…

I sighed, turning over in my tent again. I heard the sound of the wind blowing the trees, the leaves rustled, a few rabbits must be hopping around through the bushes out there… I wondered how Gaara was doing, I even thought about going back out to see him. Something about him calmed me, it let me feel… safe? That wasn't quite the word, since there was a certain something about him that had me anxious, or maybe it was something different? I couldn't tell what the feeling that was building up in the pit of stomach was, I'd never felt it before…

I slept only for a few hours before I awoke to rustling outside the tent. I heard the rush of sand flowing around my tent and sat up, alarmed. 'Is Gaara alright?' was the first thought that had gone through my head as I cautiously opened my tent. Sunlight had just begun to appear above the tall trees, I couldn't see Gaara anywhere though. Sand surrounded Kankuro's empty tent as well. Where had the two of them gone? As soon as I exited my tent and avoided a kunai I realized what was happening. Our group, of all the groups out here, ours, was under attack. I caught the kunai with the exploding tag attached to it and quickly threw it back at my attacker.

They jumped down, a mask covering all of the features. From the body shape I could tell it was a woman, but otherwise, I knew nothing. No headband was shown, no hair, only her eyes were visible underneath the mask. They bore into mine, I felt that they were familiar but I had no more time to dwell on it as she threw a punch my way.

I was lucky to be talented enough at Taijutsu, along with the great speed I had, it made me a foe that shouldn't be taken lightly. Every punch from her was easily avoided; it was as if she wasn't even trying. I pushed her fist away on her last punch, using my foot to catch her in the stomach and pushing her back. She lost her footing and rolled backwards until she slammed against a tree.

"Kay!" I turned at hearing my name being called, meeting Kankuro's worried face. He was bleeding heavily; his outfit was torn in a variety of places. Gaara rejoined us; he seemed completely undisturbed, having no marks on him. He seemed to spot the woman before I could say anything, almost immediately sand began to surround her and squeeze her body.

"Stop!" I cried out before I had realized what I was saying. Gaara and Kankuro both looked at me, shocked, although Kankuro fell to the ground shortly after. "J-just keep her in a hold, don't kill her." I looked at Gaara with pleading eyes; he treated it as if it was something he'd seen many times before, however he honored my wish and the sands grip loosened.

I ran to Kankuro's side, placing a blanket under his body as I laid him on the ground. Gaara's sand reached into my tent, grabbing my bag and dropping it by my side. I'd have to thank him for that later, however for now; I had to focus on the ninja in front of me. I was immediately healing the place where it was bleeding most, the wound on his neck needed to be taken care of immediately. He was wincing in pain as I cleaned the wound up to the best of my ability. I couldn't heal it all the way, I had to save chakra for the other wounds on his body, but once it had been closed up enough, the bandages and his body could take care of the rest of his it. Once I had fixed him up to the point his life was no longer in danger, I turned to Gaara to check over him.

I found him watching my intently, with a great interest and curiosity. It was intimidating to be the center of his attention all of a sudden; he was staring at me with a certain hunger in his eyes.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"You dislike him, yet you heal him and save his life before taking care of other business." I flushed, realizing it was true. My mother, if being thrown into this exact situation, would've unmasked the enemy first before caring for her teammate.

"I don't like him, you're right, b-but he's my teammate, I don't like it when people are in pain…"

Gaara seemed to be confused by my words, as if he couldn't possibly imagine saving someone. I sent him a questioning look but he made it clear by his glare that he wasn't going to elaborate. I sighed in frustrating, suddenly feeling tired and worn out. I stood, walking over to where the sand ball where the girl was captured. Gaara allowed a small opening to form and I peered in at her. She was alive, but she was feebly stirring. The sand within the ball formed to hands and pushed her forward; she was now arms length away from me.

I, being the dare-devil I am, reached in and gripped the mask, slowly pulling it off. Dark red eyes met mine, she smiled weakly at me.

"Nice to see you again, Kay-chan…" She began to cough, blood slipping between her fingers.

**"S-Sayune?"**


	6. Chapter 6

I forced Gaara to release the sand prison that he had around Sayune; as soon as she was free I laid her head on my lap. She was knocked out now, however when she woke up I knew I'd need to question her. Kankuro and Gaara were eyeing my carefully, I couldn't tell if it was because they were worried about my well being or if they thought I'd turn on them. She began to stir, eventually her eyes fluttered open.

"Kay…" She murmured softly, raising one hand to rub her eyes. "Is it you?" I managed a weak smile for a few seconds before it fell from my face. I couldn't be friendly with her, she was a ninja trespassing on another's territory, and she could be sentenced to death for this. I had to remain professional, especially in front of other people; my mother would have my head for this…

"What're you doing around here?" I asked coldly. It was hard to treat her as if I'd never known her, her face fell as I regarded her without much care. She sat up, turning to face my teammates instead of me. I struck a nerve.

"I'm here on a mission." She answered me just as coldly as I addressed her. She showed no fear as Gaara stepped forward with sand swirling menacingly around him. In fact, she seemed to be weighing her options in her mind, whether she should make a run for it and risk being crushed by sand or if she should just stay put. I knew she'd pick the more thrilling option; I couldn't let her run into death willingly…

"Sayune…" My voice must've sounded desperate because she immediately turned back to me with the biggest smile on her face.

"That's my cute little Kay-chan~" She hummed happily, reaching forward with her non-bloody hand to squeeze my cheek. I groaned, rubbing where she pinched. Kankuro and Gaara shared a look before Kankuro put a hand on my shoulder and led me away. I turned to look at Sayune apologetically; she smirked at me in return and looked towards Gaara. 'Please don't do anything stupid while I'm away, Sayune.'

"What are we going to do with her? The others that attacked got away." Kankuro crossed his arm and smirked. "You seem pretty friendly with that one back there." My dislike of him was growing with each word he said to me, he just seemed so _cocky_.

"We're good friends. I…" I didn't know what to do. What would happen if I brought her back to the village to be interrogated? Would Tsunade hurt her if she didn't speak? I knew Sayune well enough to know she was stubborn; she wouldn't ever give out any information, even if tortured. I didn't want her to be hurt anymore than I had already hurt her…

What if we interrogated her ourselves? Gaara didn't seem to have much patience with her as it is, the way he stared at her as if he couldn't wait to see the life leave her eyes, the way Kankuro didn't care of her well-being… I guess it was only because I was such good friends with her that I cared, but I don't think I'd be able to protect her from both Gaara and Kankuro. If I had to fight them I'd get myself into some real trouble with the Leaf Village, I couldn't imagine the punishment I'd receive…

"I-I…" I bit my lip. "We'll take her back to the village; we can let her plead her case to Tsunade." Kankuro's eyes seemed to soften as he looked me over.

"You really care for her, don't you?" I looked at him, a bit flushed.

"She's my former teammate, of course I do." He nodded, pushing me back to where Sayune stood. She gave me a big grin.

"Well? Whatcha doin' with me?" She must've trusted me; she knew I would never have her sentenced to death.

"We'll have you talk to Tsunade." Kankuro replied. "But first, we're going to have to gather everyone around to tell what we found." Sayune shrugged her shoulders, plopping onto the ground before groaning and rubbing her stomach.

"You've got a mean kick, Kay-chan."

"I-I'm sorry!"

"Kay-chan, eh? Cute…" Kankuro murmured while reaching into his bag and messing with his head piece. He had a brief conversation with Naruto, who was screaming rather loudly when he'd learned I had been attacked, and seemed even more enraged when he discovered we found something before he did. He agreed to pass it onto the next group, gave our location to Naruto, and then threw the headpiece of the ground. "Damn thing is annoying…" Kankuro looked exhausted as he plopped down.

"Aren't you going to interrogate me or something?" Sayune was looking from me to my two teammates, amused. "Or are you just going to let everyone else do the work, like you did back there cat ears." She was looking at Kankuro now, a mischievous glint in her eye. "You got so badly injured and let that sand guy do all the work, pathetic if you ask me." Kankuro growled menacingly before replying to Sayune's taunt.

"Shut it. You are still our prisoner." He grabbed onto her shirt, clenching the cloth in a fist as he snarled at her. Sayune was smiling still; she looked as if she could burst into laughter at any second. I sat worried on the side; Sayune was doing this on purpose. "Who were those two guys who attacked with you?" Sayune shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't know. Wasn't told." She was telling the truth, I could tell from her tone that she wasn't lying to Kankuro, but there was something about it that bothered me.

"The village set you off with two people you don't even know?" I asked. She looked at me and shrugged again.

"Yup." She didn't seem keen on letting loose anymore information. In any other situation I would've been excited to see her again, but not here, not like this. Not when she had been captured on land that she shouldn't be on, not when we were out here trying to find a dangerous criminal…

"Why were you here?" Kankuro seemed determined on squeezing out a few more drops of information, Sayune met his challenge.

"A mission."

"Details." Kankuro growled, he must not be used to dealing with someone like Sayune. He didn't have much patience, did he? Gaara was beside me, watching silently. His eyes hadn't left Sayune; they were cautiously watching her, waiting for her to make a move so that the sand could crush her and finish her off.

"I was given a mission to follow this criminal anywhere he went. And I did. I have a passport that says I'm allowed to be on this land." She reached into her bag and pulled out a passport that had been signed by Tsunade, as well as the Kazekage and Mizukage. Was the killer only around in those areas or did the Waterfall village expect her to capture him before he got any farther? "And also, that means you can't do anything to me or you could get into trouble." She smirked at the two sand ninja; neither of them lowered their guard though.

"Sayune." I let out a frustrated sigh. "Once everyone gets here, you can't leave the Leaf for some time." She pouted, saying nothing to me in return. I was worried about her well-being. If she was forced to stay I had no doubt my mother would love her to be a guest in our house, it was nice when Sayune was over because my mother was so keen on impressions that she didn't order me around when Sayune was there. I wouldn't be bothered if Sayune was around.

The other groups gathered around us at once, Sayune didn't seem intimidated, she seemed determined. She was the best out of our team under pressure, she had such confidence and charisma that not many would suspect if she was nervous or scared. But I knew her, I could see it in her eyes that she was beginning to realize what she had gotten herself into. She couldn't make a break for it anymore, not with all of us around.

"We'll take her back to Tsunade." Sakura stated as she roughly grabbed Sayune's arms, pinning them behind her back and using chakra to bind them together. Sakura frowned as Sayune made no struggle to escape, normally she would've commented on the rough treatment but it seemed she was biting her tongue. We started our trek back to the village, before realizing our mission wasn't over. We still hadn't caught any sight of the killer around. I voiced this thought; Sayune was the first one to respond to it.

"I know about it. But I'm not saying anything unless I'm alone with Tsunade and Kaylyn." She looked at me again, smiling before facing forward and continuing to walk. Naruto looked at me curiously; I knew they all must've been wondering how I knew her. Well, if they were curious enough they'd ask and I'd answer honestly. I was a bit embarrassed at Sayune being caught in a situation such as this, but I would never be ashamed at being friends with her. I owed her too much to not stand up for her when the time came.

"Well, should half of us head back to the forest and cover for the others who'll escort her?" Sakura suggested. Sayune immediately turned to me.

"I want Kay-chan to be with me." This caused another round of odd looks to be sent my way. Sakura looked at me before handing Sayune off to me.

"Kay-chan and I will go the rest head back." Sakura ordered. It was a good idea, it's better if only two abandoned their positions rather than the whole group. The rest of the group trekked back but not without some whispers, Kiba seemed to be the most suspicious about me. I could hear him questioning my loyalty even as we approached Tsundae's office, even though he was long gone. I sighed. So much for making good first impressions.

"Don't worry about it." Sakura smiled at me. "Kiba tends to overdo things once in awhile, don't take what he says right now seriously. He's been having a bad day." I smiled at her attempt to cheer me up, but the challenge I was about to face now was worrying me.

Tsunade observed Sayune for a second before talking again.

"Get Ibiki." Sakura frowned.

"Don't you think we could do something before letting Ibiki-san take charge?" The glare Tsunade sent Sakura silenced her.

"Who's Ibiki?" I whispered to Sakura, she only glanced and shook her head. It didn't take long before the messenger ninja returned with a man. He looked gruff, his jaw was rather square and few scars were visible from under his bandana. I shivered as his gaze fell on me, and then Sayune. She looked so brave, if it was me I would've been shaking in my boots, but she was standing tall and proud as ever. I wondered silently if this man would be the first to break Sayune.

He stood in front of her, his hard eyes glaring down at her. She gave him a blank look; I could tell she planned on putting up a fight. If she was really innocent, she'd have no reason to lie, right? Oh Sayune, please don't lie…

"Why are you in these forests?"

"I have permission." Ibiki looked her up and down, looking for the tell-tale signs of lying, but he seemed dissatisfied, so that must mean he found nothing to hold against her.

"By who?"

"I have a passport; it was signed by the Hokage." She turned and wiggled her hands, showing the chakra cuffs that restrained her. "They're in my kunai pouch. I'd get them myself but as you can see, my hands are tied." Ibiki glanced over at me and Sakura, I decided to step forward and reach into the pouch. The passport was there; I handed it to Tsunade and watched nervously as she scanned it.

"I never signed anything like this." My heart dropped and I turned to look at Sayune in disbelief.

"Sayune!" I cried out. "How could you just **lie** to me?" She seemed startled now; wide-eyed she jumped forward and looked at the passport again.

"I'm not lying, Kay! I swear I'm not! I got it from my sensei!" She looked at me with desperate eyes. "Please. You have to believe me, Kay! I didn't know it wasn't authentic! I just listened to what I was ordered to do!" I watched her timidly; this wasn't the Sayune I knew. She wouldn't ever lie, would she? She hated authority, sure, but did she really have the guts to lie in front of the most powerful person in Konoha? The one who now had control over her life. Tsunade was frowning, observing the list of signatures.

"Who gave this to you?" Sayune shook her head.

"I told you, my sensei."

"What's their name?"

"I don't know."

"Did you have teammates?"

"Yes."

"What were their names?"

"I don't know."

Well Sayune was certainly a surplus of information. Tsunade was getting annoyed; she stood up and slammed her fist on her desk.

"I suggest you start answering my questions with real answers, none of this 'I don't know' crap." Sayune jumped a little, gulping hard. She looked over at me; she seemed to be contemplating what to say. I think she was looking at me because she wanted to see if I believed her, she wanted to see if there was someone in this room who didn't see her as being guilty.

"I don't know much about my teammates. Or my sensei. I was just told I had a mission, I went to where I was told to meet them, and they briefed me on it. They said a dangerous ninja had been skinning rabbits and we were to find him and bring him back. We were to follow him wherever he went if he was to escape. That's what happened. We caught sight of him, he ran away, and we chased him. He disappeared a little outside the forest…" Sayune… Please don't be lying again. That had so little detail in it; Lady Tsunade was staring at her in annoyance.

"And who gave you this mission?"

"This scary lookin' guy. Big scar across his face, deep voice, really cool lookin'. He said he'd gotten permission from our leader… We're such a tight knit community sometimes we don't always communicate directly with the leader… You know, Kay, tell her! Tell her I'm not lying!" I was thrown into the spotlight again; I nervously tapped my fingers against my thigh as the attention was suddenly thrown on me. I was never good under pressure…

"S-she's right." I'd have to be bolder if I expected Tsunade to believe me. "Sometimes our leader would give orders through our sensei's directly. We have such a lack of ninja that everyone basically knows each other." Tsunade nodded, sitting back in her seat and staring hard at Sayune.

"I'll need to talk to the leader of the Waterfall, but as long as you're in my home, you will be kept under surveillance." Sayune opened her mouth to retaliate but I silenced her when I put an arm around her shoulder and pushed her slightly with my hips. She glared at me but I chose to ignore her for the moment.

"She can stay with me, if you'd like, Hokage-sama." Tsunade smiled.

"Always good to have volunteers! I'll have Ibiki check in every few days to make sure she's staying in line. I'd also like to talk to your mother." Oh, I'd already have to go back to her? I wish this vacation from her could've lasted forever, however the saying 'all good things come to an end' was incredibly true in this case.

"I-I supposed." Sayune smiled at me.

"What would you like us to do about our ninja in the forest?" Sakura asked, stepping forward so that Sayune and I were blocked from Tsunade's view. "Should we just pull them out of the forest for now?" Tsunade thought for a second before replying.

"For now. Have everyone gather here and we'll catch them up. Kaylyn, you're dismissed along with the girl." She nodded her head towards Sayune. "I'll have Ibiki drop by later to talk to your mother." I smiled a bit, breaking the chakra chain around Sayune's wrists. She smiled at me thankfully, rubbing her wrists.

"Bye bye~!" She hummed cheerfully, exiting the office.

"Ah, I'm sorry for all of this Tsunade-sama." I bowed. "I'll keep her in line, I promise." Tsunade smirked, waving a hand dismissively in the air.

"I trust her with you, Ms. Uzimo." I exited the office, jogging to catch up to Sayune. Even though she had no idea where she was, she had already set off and almost reached the shops in the village. She turned around once she saw I was following her again and attacked me in a hug.

"Thanks for believing in my Kay-chan." I blushed, pushing away from her airtight hug.

"It's nothing, Sayune, really. You really shouldn't get on the bad side of the people here, they're not like the people at home…"

"Boy I can tell you that! Look at this place! It's huge compared to the Waterfall village, not a single lake around! How do they have fun?"

"I'm sure they have some water around somewhere, Sayune-"

"Ooh, ramen, I've got to try some of that later."

"Sayune, seriously, we need to talk…"

"Ooh, a Dango store, too! I still say Miyuki makes the best Dango I've ever tasted but I could always give it a try-"

"Sayune, _you listen to me right now_!" I stomped my foot; she whirled around and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Whoa, this village has turned my quiet little Kay-chan violent!"

"What are you doing here, Sayune? Why are you here?"

"I missed you so much I couldn't possibly stay away." She winked at me playfully, twirling a stray piece of her blonde hair before starting to walk forward again. "You know, it was kind of rude of you to just leave me behind while you got to move on to some place as wonderful as this."

"Sayune, you know this wasn't my decision." She turned to you with an annoyed look.

"Of course not. It's your mothers. Everything's her fault. I just wish my mother would actually take me places; instead she's too embarrassed to be seen in public with me. At least your mom is proud of you."

"Sayune you have no idea what you're talking about!" She turned to me with a scowl.

"You listen to me. I've got big plans; I don't get everything handed to me because I'm not in a special clan. So you let me live my life and I'll let you live yours." She turned around again and continued to walk; anytime I had begun to walk by her side she always took another quick step forward so that she'd be ahead of me.

There was something going on but I couldn't quite figure it out. Something was wrong with Sayune but I doubt she'll tell me any time soon. Why did she seem so _jealous? _I would gladly trade mothers with her. I sighed, ruffling my hair a bit as I felt a headache begin to surface.

For some reason I felt like Sayune's visit was going to be a long one.


	7. Chapter 7

"Oh Sayune!" My mother greeted her pleasantly, letting go of her natural bitter tone and replacing it with a surprised one. "What brings you here?"

"Long story, Mrs. Uzimo. But, push come to shove, I want to stay here as long as the Hokage forces me to be in this village." My mother smiled, ushering her in and nearly slamming the door in my face. I growled, softly closing the door behind me. I hadn't missed my mother one bit that was for sure.

Not one little bit. She had always taken a shine to Sayune; she treated her better than she ever treated me. Daddy never truly liked her, but he didn't tend to say anything bad about her. He wouldn't say anything about her to me, anyway.

"You can stay in our spare bedroom. Go up there and get comfortable now, hun, take a spare pair of Kaylyn's pajamas in her room." Sayune smiled sweetly, giving me a big smile before sauntering off the stairs. Something about her new found attitude annoyed me, she was suddenly so cocky. My mother turned to face me, crossing her arms.

"How many times have I told you to warn me before guests come?" Her palm slapped hard against my face, it was so unexpected that I nearly fell over. My cheek stung; my eyes teared as I rubbed my now aching cheek. "How many times will I say something before you get it?"

"Tsunade-sama requested she stay here; you said you wanted me to make a good first impression!" My mother's eyes coldly swept over me.

"I see."

"She's going to send a ninja here to explain the situation to you."

"I see." She turned on her heel and headed up the stairs.

"You're not even going to apologize?" My cries fell on deaf ears as she ascended the stairs to speak with Sayune. I stood, watching her form disappear upstairs before letting a tear escape. I couldn't cry in front of her, it'd only encourage her, but being treated this way… I deserved an apology! I was basically cornered. Shikamaru's idea of independence didn't seem so stupid now; I wanted to be free from my mother's hold…

"I can't…" I murmured, touching my cheek. I had to leave, the air in the house had suddenly become clogged, the silence was deafening, and suddenly it felt as if the walls were closing in on me. Sayune would be fine here with my mother, I couldn't stay any longer though. I left the house, left Sayune and my mother behind, and quickly ran off in the opposite direction. Anywhere would be better than there, I know I'd hear it later but for now, I couldn't stay. I felt so stressed and alone; I couldn't take the malice and disgust that she looked at me with. I couldn't… I couldn't…

I was running blindly through the streets, people glaring at me as they moved out of the way. I couldn't care less about their stupid opinions. I'd be judged regardless, why even care? Why bother with people anymore? Why can't I just become a hermit and never speak to anyone again? The sky darkened and the crowd lessened as I ran through the streets, soon the moon was high in the sky and I was walking home. I felt stupid for running away like that; I'd surely receive a few more slaps once I got home. I wasn't looking forward it, my pace slowed as I got closer and closer.

"Hmm?" I caught site of something blocking the moonlight, a person sitting on a roof close by. Gaara…? That was Gaara, sitting on the roof to the hotel! He was staring up at the moon, a pained look on his face. I hadn't realized I had stopped moving until Gaara's gaze fell onto me. I nervously gulped and ducked my head down, walking quickly towards my home. I squeaked and stopped as a large ball of sand appeared in front of me, even more surprised when Gaara walked out.

"Gaara." I greeted him with a weak smile, my mind still lingering on my mother's wrath. "I'm sorry, I need to get home." He didn't stop me as I walked around him.

"Wait." I shivered, this was the first time I had heard his voice leave its normal bored tone. "…stay." I turned to look at him.

"That's not how you ask for someone to stay with you. You don't command a lady to do anything." He looked surprised at me having snapped back at him.

"Stay… with me?" If he had eyebrows, one would've been quirked in confusion. He must not have been well informed on social communication; he seemed sort of awkward now. He was simply staring at me now. His eyes were quite lovely in the moonlight…

"Only for a few minutes…" I couldn't bring myself to say no; partially because I knew he wouldn't willingly let me leave, partially because I didn't want to leave him. I felt more comfortable around him than my mother… "Do you always watch the moon?" He didn't answer, instead looking up at the moon wistfully. I took that as a yes.

"I like the moon, too. I and my father used to stare up at him at night, if I could ever make it that late. I was pretty young then. I always felt it was stupid and boring to look up at the moon. I hadn't realized until after he died that being together was the point of it. It's always better to watch the moon with company." I became embarrassed as I realized I was babbling, but Gaara didn't seem to mind.

"I… wouldn't know." I frowned at him.

"You've never watched the moon with anybody?" He shook his head. I felt a chill run down my spine, turning to look at the empty street. It was such a lonely road, not a single light was on anymore. It must be nearing midnight.

"Where's the girl?" Gaara asked. I shook my head, I certainly wasn't thinking straight, I than realized that he was talking about Sayune.

"She's come to live with me…"

"Be careful." He gave me one last look before disappearing into his cloud of sand and reappearing in his spot. I looked up at him, my eyes trailing from him to the moon.

"We'll watch the moon together tomorrow, okay?" I called up to him. It was hard to yell and try to be quiet at the same time, I didn't need any angry neighbors waking up and yelling at me. I wasn't quite sure if he'd heard me or not until his sea foam green eyes met mine. He didn't reply, simply giving me a hardly noticeable nod before staring at the moon. I sighed. He was such a frustratingly odd being, but that's what attracted me to him, there was a mysterious air about him… I lingered in my spot for a few more seconds before I remembered exactly why I was rushing down the street. I jogged off again, feeling Gaara's eyes on my back the whole time.

The house was silent when I walked in; the lights were off and no one was in the living room. I glanced around suspiciously, my mother was not a forgiving person, and she would've waited up all night just for another change to demean me.

"Welcome home, silly~" Sayune greeted me with a big grin and a hug.

"Whaaa-? Sayune?" She let me go and smiled, putting a hand on her hip.

"Yup. I covered for you, told your mom you left to go train. She went to bed before you got home though, she's a real sweet lady." I wish I could've punched some sense into her but I was more focused on the fact she had actually covered for me.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Lie to my mom so I wouldn't get in trouble…" She smiled at me again.

"Because we're friends silly." She smiled warmly, hooking arms with me. I wanted to protest and point out the fact that she had been acting as if she hated me, as if everything evil happening in the world was my fault, but she didn't give me a chance. "It's been such a long time; we'll spend the day together tomorrow, okay? Goodnight!" And with that she was upstairs and in the guest bedroom in no time, while I was left gaping in the living room. What was up with her? She's been acting so shifty since we'd caught her in the forest.

A chill shot through my spine; I whipped around to take a look around the living room but saw nothing alarming. This seemed to happen frequently when I was here alone; I wouldn't notice much with my mother around, since I'd be more focused on not getting hit than what was watching me. I stepped upstairs, ignoring the feeling of being watched.

"Goodnight dad." I whispered softly, staring at the picture of him I'd finally set up on the table next to my bed.

"GET UP~" I groaned loudly; Sayune was a morning person, I wasn't, anyone could see how many problems this could cause if we were to be living together for the time being.

"Come on Sayune…" I turned over in my bed, sighing and cuddling closer to the pillow as sleep continued to call my name.

"NO!" I winced as a pillow whapped me upside the head and sent me tumbling of the side of my bed. Sayune cackled evilly, tossing the pillow she had assaulted me with and dashing from the room, where she would safe under my mother's watch.

"Damn it." I groaned, rubbing my head. "She'll be lucky if I don't sneak in her room and shave her head, she sleeps like a damn log." I used the side of the bed to pull myself, catching a glance of myself in the mirror. I hadn't bothered taking of my clothes yesterday night, I must've collapsed into bed as soon as I got up here. I sighed again, realizing if I did have to go outside with Sayune I'd need to freshen up my appearance.

I reached into the drawer, pulling out a simple black shirt and white shorts (that were a bit short in my opinion, but summer was approaching and the weather in Konoha was beginning to become a bit unbearable), paired along with my black ninja sandals. I pulled a comb through my hair, sighing as it fell into place without much strain. The good thing about having straight hair was the fact it was so easy to brush.

"Come on! I want to go shopping, look for some fine boys, and have fun!" Sayune was in the doorway to my room, a big smile on her face. My gaze softened and I smiled back; it was hard to not smile at least once around Sayune. She was so cheerful it hurt.

"Alright, Sayune, calm down. Where's my lovely mother?" I mumbled the last part sarcastically, rolling my eyes as Sayune suddenly laughed.

"Scarface came to explain everything to her about me being here. Don't worry; I'm sure she'll be super proud of you for taking initiative!" I sighed, taking another glance in the mirror before exiting the room. "I made you breakfast come on." I regarded her with surprise; Sayune could cook?

I sat at the table, staring at the plate of eggs Sayune had placed before me. They were supposed to be shaped into a smiley face however one egg that stood for the eye, the yolk had ruptured and was now 'bleeding' all over the plate. I was trying not to snicker, unless I wanted Sayune to stab my with a fork or other utensils she could find in the kitchen. She was watching me expectantly.

"Eat it!" She snapped her fingers. "I don't have all day!"

"What… What happened to it?" I poked the eye that was bleeding yellow; Sayune scowled as she took the fork and stabbed the eye with it.

"It lost its eye in nom! Which is the sound you should be making right now from eating my delicious food, so eat." I winced as I was forced to eat eggs, which I wasn't too fond of in the first place, but I didn't want to hurt Sayune's feelings. She was a good cook, she was also incredibly prideful, and she'd take my rejection of her food as the biggest insult in the world.

"Thanks for breakfast…" My stomach gurgled in protest at the meal I'd consumed, but I didn't have the heart to tell Sayune I hadn't really enjoyed it. I just knew I'd be wracked with guilt, and nausea, all day.

We exited the house together, Sayune taking in the sights of the beautiful village. By now the streets were littered with people doing a variety of things; a woman was hanging clothes, two young children were running through the streets, playing a game of kick the rock and try not to maim someone, and of course there were the lovely couples, holding hands and staring at each other like lovesick puppies. Oh the wondrous people of Konoha.

I spotted Sakura in the crowd, walking with Naruto and Kiba as they hurried along from the library. Naruto and Kiba were both carrying large towers of books for Sakura it seemed, she was dictating something to them but neither seemed to be focused. I decided against greeting them, as I believed Sayune would only grate Sakura's nerves.

"Whoa, can we get Dango, please? Please, please, please?" She was nearly drooling at the sight of the delicious snack; she was much like a school child when it came to food. She was very loud, and very open about her feelings, about her thoughts, she didn't limit herself.

"Here's some yen, get as much as you want, I'll wait for you out here." She squealed happily, wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing tightly before snatching the money from my hand and entering. I leaned against the side of the building, sighing softly as I ran my hand through my hair. Yesterday had been so tiring, I felt as if I'd drop at any second. While I was staring forward, however, my eyes found a tuft of red hair in the crowd, and it was unmistakable who it belonged to.

Gaara was alongside his teammates; Kankuro was eyeing a girl in a particularly short skirt while Temari glared at him. They seemed to be walking together, towards the Hokages office. For a fleeting second Gaara's eyes met mine, it was at that moment I felt it, a connection that went deeper than words could, a connection that had been rekindled from our childhood. A smile found its way to my face; Sayune of course interrupted the moment.

"It's so delicious~" She was humming happily, yet her hands were empty.

"D-did you devour it all on the way to the door?" I asked with wide eyes. "You're going to choke and die if you continue to eat food like that!" Sayune shrugged.

"Calm down, _Mom._ I chew my food thoroughly, you just weren't paying attention. You were too busy staring at that freak." I jumped at the insult she had directed at Gaara; I was suddenly annoyed, as if it had been me she insulted.

"Sayune! You know better than to judge someone by appearance." I scolded her. She scowled and crossed her arms.

"It's not just his appearance! The way he acts, whenever I'm around him I get the chills! He was a demon in a human's body." My annoyance with Sayune was suddenly building quicker than it ever had; I was normally able to push off and ignore her little judgments but now I couldn't tolerate it. Not when it was about him.

"I don't want to hear anymore of your opinion. You don't know what he has been through; therefore you need to shut your trap." Sayune looked taken back, as if she hadn't expected me to defend Gaara so quickly.

"Whatever." She whipped her hair in my face and stalked off in the opposite direction; so much for our day together. I scowled as she disappeared into the crowd on her own; I wished her good luck as I was the one with the money, she wouldn't be able to buy anything if she could.

"Hey there." I jumped as someone addressed me; I turned to face the three sand ninja. "You and your girlfriend have a little fight?" Kankuro was grinning widely; the purple paint that normally decorated his face was absent. I had to admit, he looked much better without it on.

"Shut up."That was the only insult I could manage to choke out, as my mind was still reeling on what Sayune had said about Gaara. Whoa, I hadn't realized how short he was compared to his teammates… Nor how exotic he was. Bright red hair, sea foam green eyes, dark circles around said eyes, and the kanji for love tattooed on his head. His brother and sister looked incredibly average compared to him.

Kankuro grinned at me.

"Leave her alone, Kankuro." Temari lightly smacked Kankuro with a small fan she had in her hands. I glanced over at Gaara, whose eyes had focused on me and hadn't left. Temari nervously glanced over at Gaara and gave Kankuro an odd look. He only smirked and shrugged at her, this left me feeling very awkward.

"Well, I should be going. Have a nice day!" I waved goodbye and smiled before turning and heading off towards the training grounds. Maybe a few hours of strength and chakra control practice and I'd be able to get Sayune off my mind.

I'd found the training grounds in a few minutes, remembering when Naruto had dashed off into it, and began to explore. It was much larger than the training grounds in the Waterfall Village; it was also protected by Konoha. The Waterfall village had its training ground outside of the village walls; therefore if we were to be attacked, they couldn't declare war on its attackers. I think that's part of the reason the Waterfall Village has so little ninja.

Luckily I found a place by the water to practice chakra control; I'm not the best at Ninjutsu to be honest, even though Ninjutsu is exactly what my clan uses the most. We were given large amounts of chakra due to this; it was incredibly helpful, for being able to control an element was difficult. I had been practicing for years and I had yet to master water, but it didn't mean I didn't try.

I took a seat beside a small pond, reaching into the water and using my chakra to trap water into a tiny sphere. I pulled my hand from the water, smiling as a small fish had gotten caught within the chakra bubble. I slowly moved my hands around, allowing the shape of the ball of water to change as the small fish shifted through it. I tossed the ball into the air, keeping the chakra strings attached to it and making sure the ball stayed in its shape until it smacked against the water's surface, where the fish was able to swim back to its home. I smiled, nature was always calming, I found that being out here for awhile and my mood would improve.

"That was amazing!" I jumped at the sound of a voice; I knew I'd felt someone watching me, but I hadn't realized they'd stayed to watch my performance. I turned to meet beautiful light brown eyes that were suddenly shining with admiration. The girls' dark brown hair fell over her shoulders and framed her face perfectly; her mouth was now fixed with a shy smile.

"I'm sorry for watching you like that, but I thought that was amazing." I looked her over again, she was sickly pale…

"I'm sure you've seen things better than that!" She shook her head.

"I haven't been out lately…" She suddenly looked pained; I changed the subject for her sake. There was obviously something bothering her, but it'd be out of place of me to ask what it was at the moment.

"What's your name?"

"Heena!" She smiled again, stepping forward and taking a seat beside me and staring at the water. "I really wish I could do that."

"All it takes is some chakra control, I could train you if you'd like." Heena turned bright her, squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment.

"I-I-I-I…" Her stuttering got worse as she attempted to answer my question. "I'd be h-h-honored to train under one of the Uzimo clan!" I tilted my head to the side, my eyes narrowing as I looked over her. She knew about my clan? We weren't like the Uchiha's or the Hyuuga's, our clan had nothing special about it that no one else could learn, we weren't super powerful or super evil, so it was always a pleasant surprise when someone outside of the village had learned of us.

"Yes… Well, we'll start tomorrow; I'm a bit tired today." Heena nodded enthusiastically, a dark blush still on her face. "Would you like to start training tomorrow?"

"Y-yes!" She cried out, a bit loudly. I sweatdropped, she was an enthusiastically odd person that was for sure. "We should meet here again, okay? This'll be our secret spot!" I couldn't help but smile at her childish demeanor.

"As you wish-"

"But if I'm not here, don't be made." She stated quickly, averting her eyes as I sent her a questioning look. "I'm not allowed out often so…"

"Oh… Well I'll try and be here every day, okay? Than if you want to continue training we could plan out days to meet." She gave me another huge grin before attacking me in a hug and knocking me over.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best Uzimo-san!"

"It's Kaylyn. Call me Kaylyn." She gasped loudly.

"B-but only friends call each other by their first name, you're my sensei!"

"We can't be friends too?" I asked her confused. Heena looked as if she might explode with happiness; she let out another squeal of delight before releasing me from her iron grip.

"I'd love to be friends! I've never had a friend before!" I laughed, patting her shoulder.

"Well I'm honored to be your first friend. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be heading home now. I can't be late again…" Heena nodded, jumping up first and holding out a hand to me. I gratefully took it, laughing nervously as she thanked me again before we separated.

I then left the training grounds with a big smile, unaware that from afar, Sayune was watching me with an angry glare.

"Try to replace me will you, you little brat." She hissed, jumping from the rocks she had been watching from. "I'll show that Heena brat she can't have my friend! She messed with the wrong person."


	8. Chapter 8

I was walking along the empty street, kicking up dirt as I hummed to myself. By now night had fallen, and I knew when I got home I would be punished. I might as well be happy with the time I had left where my face wasn't completely bruised. I stopped to stare up at the moon; it was full tonight, lighting the sky with its beauty, the stars only added to the effect.

It was then that I remembered what I had said to Gaara yesterday, my eyes scanned the rooftop as I waited for him to appear. I saw his form sitting on the edge of the building, the gourd by his side. His eyes were closed however; I didn't want to startle him or anything, however he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to me. Tonight was no different, his eyes opened as I approached him.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He glanced back at me; I got my answer then. I sat beside him, crossing my legs as I let them dangle from the roof. It felt oddly nice to sit here in silence with someone else. With my father we'd always talked and he'd tell me a story, but with Gaara the silence was nice. I was content with the silence, it was comfortable. It was like no words needed to be spoken, his presence was enough to make my heart beat just a teensy bit faster.

Time was ticking away but it'd gone all too quick for me; I realized he didn't sleep and that I'd have to go back eventually. I hoped my mother would be sleeping by the time I got back; she'd be infuriated when I got home this late. Right now, however, I didn't care much about what she'd do. I was content and happy and she wasn't going to ruin my happiness again. It might've appeared weird to others that we had sat in complete silence the whole time we'd be together, but it felt right to me. If a connection is strong there's no need for words, the words would become clear through the eyes, through the movements and facial expressions.

Sleep was beginning to call my name, and I remembered I did have to train Heena tomorrow, so sadly I bid him farewell. He said something as I left though, something that had made butterflies flutter around my stomach…

"You were right." I turned to look at him curiously; I couldn't remember saying anything that would warrant an answer like that.

"About?" I tilted my head. He stood now, his back turned to me so I couldn't see his face.

"Watching the moon is better… together." I felt my face heat up as he disappeared in a cloud of sand, leaving me alone to stand on the rooftop. My heart had to have been beating a million times per minute; even as I walked home his voice was clear.

I stared up at the house, sighing as I realized I'd have to hold onto the memory of my few hours with Gaara to be able to get through the hell my mother would put me through. This was the second time I had entered the house and it was dark; my mother was no where around. Maybe she'd finally stopped caring and given up on scolding me; I quickly shook that thought from my head. I decided not to bother wondering where she was, I quickly snuck upstairs.

My mother's door was shut tight; she wasn't in there, she always slept with the door open so that she'd be able to hear any intruders. She only closed it when she left the house; I bet it was locked, too. The guest bedroom door was slightly ajar, Sayune normally slept with the door closed, I'd learned this when I spent nights over her house. She wasn't here either, which slightly worried me. Was she okay? I hoped she didn't get into any trouble today…

I slipped inside, noting that the room had actually become cleaner now that Sayune had moved in. It was plain, of course, since Sayune hadn't really brought any belongings, except for two pictures in frames lying on her bed. I took a few steps forward, lifting the first frame up. It was a picture of her family, as I lifted it to get a closer look I noticed drops of water slide down and clean the dirty frame. Had she… been crying? I put the picture down quickly, not willing to pry much more, until I caught sight of the second picture.

It was of me, her, and her sister, all crowded around a table in her grandma's old restaurant. Each one of us wore a goofy grin; it was around when we had just become good friends, when our team had formed. My eyes softened as I noticed that this picture, too, was wet with her tears. Why had she been so upset? I glanced at the frame, noticing that the back as loose and nearly fell off when I picked it up. I turned it over, noticing a letter. While I was pondering on whether or not to invade Sayune's privacy any longer, it would be nice to know what her issue was I heard the soft click of the front door.

I quickly put the pictures back in place, making sure the room looked as if it hadn't been disturbed before sneaking back to my room. I heard the loud thumping of two people walking up the stairs; I was quickly throwing on my pajamas, I had to make it appear as if I'd been sleeping for awhile. As I snuggled under my covers the door to my room clicked open and two figures were standing in my doorway.

"She's sleeping…" That was Sayune's voice…

"Hmm. We'll deal with this issue tomorrow. Thank you for telling me of this problem Sayune, I will quickly rid her of any thoughts of befriending any demons."

"Of course Mrs. Uzimo. I just hope she understands it's for her own good." My fists clenched under the covers; Sayune had told my mother about Gaara, hadn't she? What a _traitor!_ She was looking out for me? I don't think so! I suddenly felt the anger welling up inside my chest, but I couldn't say anything unless I wanted to blow my cover. I steadied my breathing; soon enough Sayune and my mother had headed off to bed.

Another eventful day with Sayune, I thought with a sigh. I don't understand Sayune anymore. She'd never done this; she's never acted so bratty and jealous before. She'd always been the warm, understanding friend that I could tell anything to. She had been the non-judgmental girl who had been friends with everyone. Why had she changed so much over the course of a year?

I sighed softly, letting my thoughts go and allowing myself to slip into sleep.

_You will never amount to anything. You are nothing in my eyes._

_I was standing in an arena, my head was aching and I was surrounded by many ninja's, who were sitting up in what looks like stands. Sayune was in front of me, her eyes focused on me, the hate in her glare sending shivers down my spine._

"_You are not __**better **__than me. Don't you __**EVER **__think you're better than me, you're not!" She screamed, her fists clenching, her teething gritting as she ran forward. She drew a small katana and raised it towards me; my feet were glued to the ground, I couldn't move. I couldn't escape Sayune's wrath. The pain felt real as the katana was shoved through my abdomen, I gasped as I touched the wound Sayune had made._

"_S-Sayune." I choked out; my eyes had begun to water. I fell to my knees, my hand still clutching my stomach. Sayune looked down at me coldly, before she looked eerily amused. I fell backwards onto the ground; Sayune took the opportunity to put her foot on my throat._

"_Don't you ever believe you're better than me! Because you're nothing. I'm the one leaving you behind; I'm the one who's destroying your happiness, your heart, your soul! I hope you feel the pain…" The rest of her words were blurred as I faded from conscience. The only words echoing through my mind was 'You killed me…'_

I cried out in surprise and jolted out of my bed, running to the mirror and lifting up my shirt. There were no visible wounds ready, although my stomach was churning rather violently. I was fine though, a bit paler than normal and maybe a bit more wary of my friend sleeping in the next room, but there was nothing life threatening happening to me. I sighed tiredly, falling back onto my bed and glancing at the alarm clock.

It was only 6. Fantastic. However, it would be a good opportunity to escape the house before either of the other inhabitants woke up. I stepped into the shower; I was a woman on a mission. I showered quickly, throwing on my ninja uniform before, and packing what I needed for the day. I stared at the picture of my dad for a second before deciding to slip his picture from the frame. I tucked it down my shirt so that in now lay over my breast, where my heart was beating. Teach me how to be a good teacher, Dad…

I grabbed a few pieces of toast on the way out; I didn't know how long I'd be waiting, Heena hadn't specified a particular time to meet her. I just needed to get out of the house before being questioned. Hopefully I arrived home late again, although I guessed I shouldn't be pushing my luck. It had been pure luck that she hadn't been home the past two days to know that I'd been out later than I was allowed.

I scowled as I walked down the street, thinking about all my mother's ridiculous rules. Who did she think she was? What was I, six? Why did I need constant attention put on my faults? Why was she trying to mold me into the perfect person? I'm no machine. I would never be able to impress my mother; sometimes it felt as if I'd die trying to prove to her that I was worth something. Maybe it was time for me to start fighting for myself, without her ruling over my life…

Heena was there, which surprised me. She was sitting in the same spot I'd been in yesterday, her hands pushing through the water. She looked even sicklier than she had yesterday; I stepped forward and greeted her. She turned to me with big eyes and a surprised face.

"Ah! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start without you, I-I-I was just testing out my chakra c-control and I-" Heena continued to stutter, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

"Don't worry about it. You're here to learn; at least I know you'll practice on your own." I smiled, taking a seat next to her. Her eyes were suddenly on me, peering at me as if she was waiting for me to sprout a few more heads.

"What's first, sensei?" I smiled, quite enjoying the title of 'Sensei' and being regarded with such respect. She was watching me again. At least I had someone who was more than willing to learn, it'd make my job a little easier.

"First, do you know handsigns? They're going to be for a more complicated part, but they're always good to know." She looked embarrassed when she shook her head, confirming she was coming in with nearly no knowledge. It took over a half hour to go over each handsign, even longer for her to be able to form them correctly. Whatever I said seemed to stick in her mind though, before no time she was able to form them on the drop of dime.

"Try to practice every day, okay? Only for like a half hour or so, than focus on your chakra skills." She nodded quickly; I hoped she wouldn't give herself whiplash. Next I taught her how to form a chakra bubble. She had very shaky control, her chakra ball was much like herself; fragile and weak-looking. Her hands were shaky as she tried to smooth out the rough edges; I touched her knuckles and steadied her hands. In turn, the ball of chakra began to steady too, until it was nearly perfect.

Heena was smiling proudly; I had to congratulate her. It'd taken me a few months to be able to form a steady ball of chakra. My dad had helped me though, after long months of frustration. A steady hand and a steady mind is needed to be able to form chakra, lest you let yourself get out of control and risk injuring those on your team.

She looked physically weakened by the hours of work I made her do; I had to be sure she could hold the chakra ball in place before letting her attempt to get water in it.

"I-I'm sorry…" Heena whispered, releasing her hands and letting the chakra ball wither away. "I-I can't do… anymore." She was panting heavily now, sweat was dripping down her forehead and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. My hand found her cheek and I forced her to look at me; her eyes were becoming unfocused and blurred. "I'll be going…" She whispered softly, standing up and quickly running from me. Once she thought I was out of sight, she began to limp quickly, wincing in pain with every step.

I had to make sure she got home okay; I followed her movements, remaining hidden. She entered a rather large dojo that was in the woods, it was guarded by two male guards wearing masks. They greeted Heena, who waved her hand weakly before stepping inside. She was now home, and safe, but curiosity about this odd girl had taken hold of me.

"Flames of Hell jutsu…" I formed the proper handsigns and let the illusion fall upon the two guards. They became alarmed by a fire that appeared in the distance; as suspected they left their posts. I took the time to quickly dash inside, finding cover behind the many pillars that were lined outside leading the house. Heena had stopped in front of a man who looked much like herself, however his sickly appearance made her appear as if she was the healthiest person in the world.

"Mother d-d-doesn't know, does she father?" The man smiled weakly, raising a shaky hand to touch his daughters head. He began to stroke her hair, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Of course she knows nothing. I do hope you won't make this a reoccurring thing, my little flower." Heena smiled, relaxing her shoulders and grabbing her father's hand.

"Only a few times I week. I'll spend as much time with you when I'm home, I-I-I promise." His eyes focused on hers again; however his mouth was set into a frown.

"I'm sorry I've passed on such a burden to you…" Her father proceeded to have a coughing fit; Heena was panicking slightly until her father held up a hand to silence her. "Heena, once I die-"

"N-No, father! We will not speak of such things until t-the t-t-time is closer…" Her lower lip quivered slightly; I could feel my heart responding to her sadness. The pain of losing a father of which you loved…

"It's closer than you think…" Heena opened her mouth to protest again, but he silenced her. "Hear me out, Heena. You must be brave for me, be strong for your mother when I'm gone…" He smiled and stroked her cheek lovingly. The love, the bond between the two of them was so evident that I nearly saw myself and my father in their places.

"W-would you like some t-t-tea? It a-always makes you feel better!" Heena was sniffling; it was evident that a few tears were threatening to fall.

"You yourself are in such weak condition. I'll get the tea, relax." His hand shook as he attempted to push himself up, he stumbled and Heena jumped to his rescue but he gently pushed her away. I could see it in his eyes from where I was placed, the frustration at being so weak you couldn't do anything, you couldn't take care of your loved ones… Heena collapsed next to the spot where her father had just been. He disappeared into the house. Heena placed her face in her hands and began to silently sob; for herself and for her father. For the suffering that was slowing killing him and possibly killing her. My heart was overwhelmed with a feeling that was familiar.

I disappeared into the forest again. I had never realized I was being so selfish about everything I'd been through; I wasn't the only person in the world who had suffered from a loss. Naruto had no parents, Gaara's mother had died and his life was one that had been without love; I had never understood their pain until now. Until I saw with my own eyes the pain Heena would have to face every day. She was braver than I knew; a feeling of pride hit me.

A wonderfully brave girl such as her had come to me specifically to become stronger; she wanted to beat this illness no matter what it took. She wouldn't tell me about it for now; she didn't want me to go easy on her for her weakness; to overcome them she had to push herself.

She was a brave girl and I was proud to say that I was training her now.


	9. Chapter 9

"Once more, Heena."

"Right!" Her eyes flared as her fist pressed against the dummy I'd set up for her. After a good month of training, she'd already begun to improve. She didn't become fatigued as quickly, although her illness still had a heavy effect on her training. We couldn't train for more than a few hours without her having to take a break, but I was proud of her improvement. Our agreement had suddenly changed around however.

She wanted to know more, she wanted to become a stronger ninja, and therefore she wanted to know more than just water bending. She wanted me to train her in strength, too. She wanted me to be her mentor, her guide, to becoming a stronger ninja, and I happily accepted. I had taken a shine to her, she was unbelievably determined to better herself, it was an admirable trait to have.

Things between me and Sayune had continued to deteriorate. She became jealous of me spending so much time training Heena, even though I'd offered that she could help me, and soon we weren't speaking much. She was confined to the small home by Ibiki, who now made frequent visits to be sure she was staying in line. I was hoping it was just the fact she was cornered inside and I wasn't that was making her so annoyed with me. I wish things could've been better between us, but hopefully once I was done training Heena, and Sayune was let off her probation, we could work on rekindling our old friendship. I just wish that things didn't have to be like this.

"S-Sensei…" Heena was clutching at her side, signaling that training was over for the day. I smiled warmly, patting her shoulder.

"I've got to say Heena, you're really improving. I'm jealous; it took me forever to learn as much as you have. I'm proud." The look in her eyes at that moment made me smile wider; she was proud of herself, too. For once the illness that daunted her was no longer holding her back, she was fighting hard against its effects and winning. It took more courage than you would think.

"T-T-Thank you!" She bowed her head, blushing profusely. "I-I'm glad someone is proud of me…" Her look of pride suddenly fell. She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she was fighting internally. "You're so kind…" Tears began to form in her eyes.

"No, don't cry!" I shouted, shaking her small form. "No need to thank me, just don't cry!" Heena looked at me with teary eyes.

"B-b-but you've been so kind to me. I can't even repay you for all that you've done; you've given me your time. I'm… I…"

"Any person would've done it, Heena. Please now, smile a bit. It's easier to smile than to frown! My dad told me that." She looked up at me; the memories of her sickly father came flooding back to me and suddenly I felt bad. Maybe she didn't want to be remembered of her father for the time being…

"Oh…" She murmured softly, her gaze falling to the ground. "Your father teaches you?"

"Used to." I smiled weakly as she gasped.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry!" she bowed, apologizing over and over again before I grabbed her shoulder and forced her to stand up.

"Don't. We're equals, so there's no reason to bow down to me, nor is there a reason to apologize for bringing up my father. I'm proud to be his daughter…" I bit my lip; the memories of him hadn't hit me as hard as it was now. Heena was watching me now, though it was obvious she was deep in thought.

"If y-you can, would you mind t-t-telling me about him?" Heena asked quietly. I looked at her for a second before getting an idea. Maybe if I willingly shared some information about my father, she'd tell me more about hers. It'd get her to loosen up a bit, at least.

"Why don't we go get something to drink? You need your energy!" She blushed.

"I didn't bring a-a-any money…" She murmured softly. "We don't have much to spare right now…"

"It's my treat, for improving so much." Being around her made me feel like an actual sensei; in reality I could never compare to any Sensei around these parts, but I was much more powerful than Heena. I wondered how long that would last; she was improving at a wonderful rate.

We walked the streets together; her eyes were shifting through the crowd. I had figured out she was allowed to be out much due to her sickness; she was normally trapped in the dojo she called home. If anyone told that they'd seen her in town, she'd be in trouble. She kept an eye on every person who came into contact with her, who brushed against her or looked at her funny; she must've been very paranoid.

We finally reached it the store and sat down, only ordering something to drink. Heena wasn't too keen on spending my money so she opted for the cheapest options; I wasn't here to force her to do what she didn't want. I was here because I wanted to learn more about her.

"So, what was he like?"

"Brilliant. Kind, and compassionate. I don't think he had any enemies, he had friends and than he had people who he didn't know." Heena giggled at my stupid joke. "He was a good guy, he always cheered me up when I was down, and he spent almost all his time with me when he wasn't on missions. I really… Back then it was hard to think about ever living without him…" My eyes left hers and went to staring at my drink, which had suddenly become very interesting.

"How did you…get over his…" Heena wasn't quite sure how to word her question without bringing back bad memories, but I got the gist of what she was asking.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it was hard. I cried every night because he wasn't there to tuck me in. I cried every morning because he wasn't at the table to eat breakfast with me. There was hardly a moment when I didn't realize he was gone and never coming back. But my mother had enough after two months of me crying, she doesn't really like children. So she kept me so busy training that I didn't have time to think or feel horrible. By day I was being trained, by night I was so exhausted that I couldn't even think a few seconds before falling asleep."

"It was the way I was forced to cope with his death, and it worked for awhile. But my mother took advantage of my feelings; she began to train me and manipulate me into what she wanted me to be. I don't think I had a steady head until I first joined my team." Heena was nodding, listening intently to my story. "I have a picture of my father that I keep with me always. I bring it with me on missions, because it makes me feel like he's still here." Heena looked down, her face suddenly turning dark.

"The ones who we love never truly leave us…" She murmured softly, her hands resting on her cup. "That's what my father says."

"I've told you about my father… tell me about yours!" As she was about to talk I felt a chill run down my spine; I turned around and glanced around the restaurant. I caught sight of blonde hair but whoever it was had quickly exited the establishment after gaining my attention. Heena looked at me curiously, but I shook it off as nothing.

"Continue." She nodded.

"My father is… sick. Like me, except he's worse off than I am. The disease that plagues my family has gotten to the point in his system that… that his death will be unavoidable…" Her eyes looked down towards the table; she was silent. This wasn't new information, as I had learned all this when I spied on her. "I don't want to end up like him, just sitting there and waiting to die. He lost his hope a long time ago; I won't though! I will beat this… What do I have to lose?" Her eyes had a sudden glint of determination.

"That's the spirit." I smile at her. "I guess we're about done here-"

"Kay-chan!" I gasped as I saw a flash of yellow and orange; I was promptly attacked in a tight hug by said flash.

"N-Naruto-kun!" I cried out happily; it'd been all too long since I'd actually talked to him. He grinned at sat in the booth beside me, grinning widely. He didn't seem to notice Heena until she stuttered out something. Her face had turned pink; she jumped up to leave, thanking me profusely before dashing away. I watched after her in confusion but had no time to question it as Naruto squeezed me tightly.

"I was hoping I could see you again before I leave! Come on, come on! I'll treat you to Ramen, its way better than this place!" We were beginning to get dirty looks from the other patrons in the restaurant; poor people wouldn't have a quiet dinner with Naruto around. I hushed him up and pushed him, agreeing to go get ramen with him.

"I-I-I'm s-s-so sorry…"

"Eh, Heena?" Heena was laying on the ground outside, using her elbows to push herself up as a man glowered over her.

"Watch where you're going next time you little pest. I don't want to become infected with that disease!" He laughs haughtily and turns to enter the restaurant, but I move to stand in his way. He takes one look at me and bursts out laughing; I twitched in annoyance as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Apologize to her." I demanded. He looked at me, smirking, and shook his head.

"Now why would I do that?" I clenched my fists; at the moment it was hard to keep my anger in check. I had never felt this rage, this pure hatred, before, for anyone. I had suddenly felt protective over Heena's well-being, like she was my child or sister. She was a friend, a part of my world, and this guy thought he could push her around as he pleased? He thinks he can insult her and her family with me around and have me not say a word to him?

I wasn't the one to start fights, that was Sayune, but since I've arrived in the Leaf I've realized a few changes in the person I was. I had become stronger, not just mentally but physically, training with Heena had still been training for me, and I was beginning to realize that if I didn't stand up for what I believed in, no one would. I had to set an example, so that those who were weaker, those whose voices were rarely heard, knew that someone was there for them.

"Because it's the respectful thing to do." I highly doubted this guy knew about respect. Naruto was backing me up, his fists raised and ready to make a move if the guy tried anything. My hands rest on my hips; he would have to forcibly move me if he thought he was getting anywhere without apologizing. He must've realized this, for he raised a big fist and swung hard, I ducked; He had thrown so much power into his swing that his fist swung him around and caused him to tumble backwards.

"Oi!" Naruto shouted. "You shouldn't hit girls!"

"Got 'er boss." I squeaked as I realized my arms were suddenly being restrained; I wasn't able to use my super strength in public, others may get hurt. People were beginning to stare at us worriedly; there were hushed whispers and cries for help.

"Good. Now keep 'er still." He raised his fist again; Naruto shouted loudly, pushing hard against the men that restrained him but to no avail. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to come, but was met by the sound of a rushing waterfall… No, it sounded like that at first, but now I realized it was sand…

"Let her go, **now.**" Gaara demanded; I hadn't heard that much malice in his voice since my dreams. The man took one look at Gaara and laughed harder; this turned out to be a horrible mistake. The sand wrapped around the lackey's arms, the one that was holding me, and squeezed, I heard the crack of the man's arms as he howled in pain, successfully releasing me. I jumped up, immediately running to Naruto and punching the guy holding him in the face.

The boss and his lackeys gathered together, shaking under Gaara's intense glare. I could feel the hatred emanating from him; something bad was going to happen if I didn't say something now. I made sure Heena was alright and left her to Naruto before I dared to step within range of Gaara's attacks. He noticed I was there, the sand swirled around at my feet, ready to jump forth for protection if the man dared to threaten my well being again.

"It's okay…" I whispered. I wanted to sooth his raging spirit, I wanted even more to know why he had gotten so worked up by the guy assaulting me, but now was not the time for it. "Don't do anything rash…" His glare remained but the sand returned to his gourd; he was calming down slowly, but surely. I gripped the back of his shirt unsurely; he shied away from my touch suddenly.

"**Don't ever touch her again.**" His voice was laced with venom and contempt; the men turned tail and ran way, I was positive they'd never mess with me, or Heena, again.

"I'm sorry." I had walked to her side to check if she was alright, Naruto and Gaara were standing on the sidelines, simply watching. I figured Naruto was waiting for me, but I wasn't sure why Gaara had stayed. I was used to him saying something that made my heart flutter and then disappearing, but now he was staying where I'd be able to interrogate him. Heena came first, however.

"Don't worry about it." I patted her shoulder and smiled warmly; I hadn't gotten hurt, she hadn't gotten hurt, what was there to apologize for?

"I-I'm so weak." Her eyes were downcast, her voice shaky. Everything we'd worked for, her self-esteem and determination seemed to be non-existent in that moment.

"Don't **ever** doubt yourself, Heena." My eyes hardened; if the only way to teach her was a speech, unfortunately I'd have to give her one. "You're only human; you shouldn't expect to be perfect in all aspects. I stood up for you because I know you wouldn't stand up for yourself, you're my friend Heena, and I think sometimes I know you better than you do." She wouldn't look me in the eyes, so I grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them, forcing her to look up at me in surprise. "You listen to me! You're an amazing person, and you shouldn't let some muscle head who takes pride in bullying girls get you down. Think about how far you've gotten in the past month; do you realize what you've done? How much you've changed? I believe in you, if I hadn't would I be training you? Do you honestly think I'd waste my time if I thought you were a hopeless cause?"

She was blushing now, tears forming in her eyes. I thought that maybe for a moment that something had changed in all three people who were watching me.

"Perfect!" A loud voice echoed. "This is perfect for my new book! Absolutely. Although there'd be much less clothing." I released Heena's face and turned to face the man that had such… perverted things. Naruto was fuming now.

"Pervy Sage!" He shouted loudly. "They're only 13 you dirty pervert!" Gaara glanced at me for one last time before turning and walking away. While Naruto was getting into an argument about the values of a pornographic book, I ran after Gaara.

"Wait!" He stopped and turned to me, the emotionless expression remained on his face but a flash of emotion came to his eyes, for a split second but it was there. "Why'd you defend me like that?" He didn't say anything, as I suspected he would, I was desperate for answers though. With all that had happened as of recent, with Sayune and my mother, I had to know if I still had someone who was looking out for me.

"I don't know." He replied, but his gaze softened, as emotion suddenly appeared in his eyes again. I could see what it was now, though, it was confusion. He didn't know why he did what he did, he only felt as if it was right to do so. "Tell me if anyone… hurts you again." My eyes widened; he took this chance to walk away once more.

"I want to talk!" I shouted. People were glancing at us oddly; we must've looked like we were putting on some weird romance play.

"The moon is always better… when you're watching it with someone." He murmured softly before disappearing into his cloud of sand and leaving me puzzled. The moon… Did he mean he wanted me to meet him again tonight on the rooftop? I smiled a bit, I always did whenever that thought came to mind, of the first night we spent together to watch the moon.

"Kay-chan!" Naruto shouted, gaining my attention. He and the white haired man had stopped fighting; the man was now observing Heena. I walked back over to the group, casting a glance at the proclaimed  
'Pervy Sage'.

"Are you going to introduce yourself?" I asked, seeing as Heena was getting nervous under his eyes. He turned to me, his eyes falling from my face down to my chest. I blushed, covering them and turning around.

"I'm Jiraiya!" He claimed proudly. "Writer of the fantastic series, Icha Icha Paradise!" A thought came to mind; I'd caught my dad reading it when I was younger, my mom did too, and they got into a big fight about it. Dad was pretty embarrassed, I guess now I knew why. "And you're only 13?"

"14, actually, but still too young to legally star in anything pornographic." Heena's face had turned completely red; she really was innocent.

"Well I must say, you've grown in well!" His cheeks turned red as he begins to stare at my chest again, giving me a thumbs up to show his approval. Naruto responded by kicking him in the face and yelling some more.

"Naruto, I'm going to take Heena home." He looked at me sadly, and I realized we were supposed to spend some time together before he left.

"Tomorrow, I promise. We'll meet at Ichiraku's, right?" It wasn't too far from my house; we could easily meet there for lunch, since I didn't have to train Heena tomorrow. She had admitted that her father's condition was worsening and she didn't want to be too far from him too much.

Naruto got a goofy grin on his face and blushed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Y-yeah! We'll meet tomorrow, lunch time, believe it!" Jiraiya patted Naruto on the back proudly.

"Way to go, a date with a girl, now it's time for the best part of your training…" Naruto looked up at Jiraiya expectantly. "The birds and the bees, my boy!" Narutos face fell.

"I already know about that you dirty old man! Geez, why do you always jump to conclusions like that-" Naruto and Jiraiya started off in the opposite direction Heena and I were heading in; I could still hear them arguing even as the distance between us got longer.

"Heena." She was blushing as she followed me, I didn't want her to know I knew where the dojo was, so I had to have her lead the way. "You should really lead the way…" She blushed, sputtered an apology, and began to lead the way. There was a path, only a few miles from my house, that lead straight to the entrance of the dojo. The two guards were standing there and eyed me warily; they would've attacked if I hadn't been with Heena.

"Thank you, sensei." She bowed respectfully. "I'll see you soon, I hope." I nodded and waved goodbye, watching her walk through the dojo, were the form of her father lay in wait. I sighed softly, slowly walking through the woods; the birds were chirping a song and I found myself humming along with them. The darkness was falling, the moon would soon be in the sky, and I knew exactly where to wait for him.

Hopefully tonight, I'd get some answers.


	10. Chapter 10

He was there, sitting and watching the moon. I took the chance to admire him from the ground; his face, his hair, his eyes were bathed in the moonlight. My cheeks turned pink after I realized I was staring; when had he become so attractive to me? When I had I begun to gain such a large interest in this odd sand ninja?

I joined him on the rooftop, taking my place beside him and crossing my legs. He glanced over at me on my arrival; his eyes were scanning my face, searching for something that I didn't know. All he found was a soft smile and glowing eyes; never had he been so intrigued with someone.

Gaara admitted to himself that she reminded him of Naruto, the determination and the dedication she gave to those close to her made her unique. Not many girls were like her; to him she was one of a kind. He hadn't understood at first what he felt when he saw her, he understood what jealousy was, but he'd never felt it so intensely until he'd seen another man touching her. He wanted her, in his mind she was already his from the moment they'd met again. He didn't understand where his feelings of possessiveness came from, when it came to anything involving her feelings were mixed. Part of him wanted to indulge in the feeling; the other half feared the pain that would come from the feeling gaining too much power. Emotions had never been clear to him, especially not in this moment.

"What're you thinking about?" I asked softly, his eyes had fallen from the moon to the houses opposite of where we were sitting. He appeared to be deep in thought, not that he wasn't always silent already, but this silence made the air around us seem uneasy.

"Why…" He murmured quietly, if I hadn't been so focused on hearing what he had to say I wouldn't have heard at all. "Why do you make me feel this way…" He placed his hands in his hair, pulling on a few tufts in anger.

"Huh?" He seemed to be getting worked up over something again. "Gaara…"

When you said his name he felt the beast inside him, the one who was forcing itself up and taking advantage of his rage, begin to relax and become dormant again. He stared at me again; one question was constantly running through his mind. Why did I have this effect on him? What made me so special that I could easily tame the beast that lived inside of him?

Gaara let out a frustrated growl, releasing his hair from his grip before forcefully grabbing my shoulders. I gasped, having never been physically assaulted by him before. His hands squeezed my shoulders hard, his eyes were dancing with a feeling I couldn't indentify. But at the same time I knew it was the Gaara I had grown to care for, the one that had become my protector. He released my shoulders, a guilty look showing in his eyes. He'd lost control when he hadn't meant to, he'd scared me when he hadn't wanted to.

"G-Gaara-kun?" His eyes flashed, his hand rose and brushed against my cheek. He used to think beauty came from the blood of his victims that the blood mixed with the sand made a beautiful art piece but after Naruto had knocked sense into him, he began to reform his ideas of everything. Especially with what he saw as beauty. What was the feeling that welled up in his stomach now, was this the emotion had hadn't ever known as a child? I was the first to grant him acceptance, would I be the first to teach him about…

My eyes traveled to the kanji on his forehead while his hand touched my cheek.

"Why is that there?" I asked, using my finger to trace the kanji on his forehead. He froze under my touch, his eyes widening slightly and the sand starting to move around him. He was alarmed, unsure of whether to trust me, I could tell, but I continued what I was doing.

"I was taught to love no one but myself." He stated. "As a child… I was feared, I was a machine used for war, not a human being. I had sworn to myself that I'd live only for myself…" Then why was he protecting me? Why was he being so tense whenever I'm around? Why was he acting like I was irreplaceable?

"I…" Gaara's glared, the fact any emotion was showing made me feel slightly awkward. To see emotions on his face was sort of an unusual thing. His face contorted back to its normal emotionless expression as his hand left my cheek. "I can't describe the feeling…" Gaara's eyes shifted downwards as he glared at the rooftops.

"Maybe you don't need to figure it out now." I murmured softly. His attention shifted over to me again. "Maybe you should just enjoy the feeling." I smiled at him; a light blush came upon his cheeks, which I had to admit was rather cute.

The next moment seemed to happen in slow-mo. Gaara's sand rose to protect the side of my face as a shuriken was thrown at me. I immediately jumped up on my guard, Gaara by my side as we faced the darkness. I heard the sound of footsteps walking behind me; I whirled around before Gaara had a chance and gasped.

"M-mom…" I whispered in surprise. Gaara stood in front of me, his hand protectively held out in front me; his sand at the ready.

My mother had on her ninja gear, I hadn't seen her wear it in years, since my father's death… Her hard glare was set on me; she seemed to be ignoring the sand ninja in front of me who was attempting to protect me from her.

"You're getting older and as you do so, I expect you to mature." Her eyes narrowed. "Now it's time for you to make a decision." She stepped forward, ignoring the sand that threatened her. "In every ninja's life tough decisions need to be made; I as your mother have made all your decisions thus far; I am not surprised that when given the chance to make a decision, you chose the wrong one. Now come here, away from that **demon**." I flinched as she hissed the last word menacingly. Gaara didn't falter; it hurt my heart to know that's because he'd heard it so many times before that now it wasn't a surprise.

"He's not a demon!" I shouted before I had realized what I was doing. It had come so naturally to jump to the defense of the people she degraded on a daily basis. "The thing sealed inside of him is a demon, but he is not! Don't go around acting high and mighty and degrading him for some petty reasons-"

"Come here, now, Kaylyn." She commanded again, her eyes coldly glaring into mine. "Who are you choosing? Me, your mother, or him, a demon, a fighting machine who will never know what love means!" I didn't use my words to answer her; my actions had made it clear enough to her as my fingers tightened around Gaara's arm and I remained behind him. She jumped back as the sand leaped forth at her, pushing her back until she was against the wall.

"Gaara…" I whispered softly, "Don't hurt her… She's not worth the energy." And that's the one minute in my life I respected myself, for I had done the thing I'd been attempting to do for years. I had stood up to my mother. Gaara nodded, letting the sand retract back into the gourd. I stared at my mother, whose eyes were on me again, this time with a begging nature.

"Please…" She looked so weak in this moment. "Please I can't lose you and your father…" I froze in place. This had been the first time she had bothered mentioning my father since his death… Suddenly I felt angry; I stomped forward past Gaara until I stood in front of her.

"Then why didn't you pay your respects to him. Why didn't you come to his funeral? Why didn't you come visit him in the hospital? If you loved him so much and didn't want to lose him, why do you show no remorse for the fact that he's dead?" She stared at me with wide eyes; never in my life had I raised my voice to her, never had a dared. With Gaara by my side I felt empowered; he wouldn't let her hurt me, and it was now the perfect opportunity to say what I had always wanted to say.

But at the moment in time, with her looking so worn out, I couldn't find the strength to tell her off. It wasn't in me to spite her just because she had ruined a big part of my life. In a way she had made me stronger; she made me realize what I wanted to be.

"This is goodbye." I stated loudly, just in case she was too lost in her thoughts to hear me. Her gaze faltered as she continued to walk forward, the sand threatening her again as she walked past me. She stopped when she was standing next to me, turning to look at me.

"You are _nothing_." She hissed, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Her words would've hurt if I had believed them true, but suddenly memories ran through my head. Heena thanking me for being there for her, for being strong for her, when Naruto smiled at me for the first time after I told him he was no monster, and Gaara…

I turned around to face the red head, walking forward until I was staring at him head on.

"Thank you." I smiled at the shocked look on his face; he's never been thanked for anything before, I realize. "I'll see you tomorrow, hopefully…" I walked past but I'm stopped by a hand grabbing my wrist. I turned around to give him another look, his eyes showed a certain sadness.

"Thank…you…" It was clear he'd never thanked anyone before either; he released my wrist and, as I suspected he'd do, disappeared into his cloud of sand. I was confident however, that I'd find him tomorrow sometime… I jumped from the roof and started along a path into the forest. I had unknowingly started to Heena's dojo, once I had realized where I was walking however, I thought about how much I wanted to see her now.

Over the past month of training I'd vent my feelings to her, the only person who'd listen to me, who'd understand. I was desperate to tell her about tonight, how ever since it was so late at night, I had figured that she was probably sleeping. I'd wait for her then, until the day came. It's not like I could really go home and sleep regardless.

When I had started along the path it had been quiet, however as I walked deeper into the forest, I could hear the sound of sobbing. As I got closer to the dojo I saw a figure, hunched over and sobbing. By the clothing, it had to be Heena. I stepped forward quietly, being sure to not alert her to my presence just yet. She wouldn't stop sobbing however; it was breaking my heart to see this from her…

"Heena…" I whispered. Heena stared up at me, her eyes big.

"W-why are you here?" She sniffled, rubbing her eyes hastily.

"What's wrong, Heena?" She looked at me in silence for a few minutes before she answered.

"Did you know that sometimes I can't bear to go home? Because I know he'll be there, and he'll still be in pain and seeing him is killing me. But he told me he loves it when I'm around, so every day when I go home I'll spend all my time with him. And when I come out to train I'm worried that he's going to be dead and I'll miss my chance to say goodbye. I can't… I can't do it anymore. Last night I wished that all of this could just end-" She sobbed into her hands. "I love my dad that I go back to him every night, even though it makes me sad, even though it's slowly killing me. A part of me will die with him…"

"We all need relief." She sniffled a bit, glancing up at me with tear-filled eyes. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I understand the way you feel, how you never want to lose your father. Every time I knew my father would go on a dangerous mission I couldn't sleep, I had to wait up until he came home. I didn't want to wake up one day to find out he was gone and I'd never be together again. I'm not going to pretend like it'll be easy, Heena. But cherish the time now-" I squeezed her tighter in my arms as her sobbing grew harder. "-I understand what you're going through… Be sure to tell your father you love him every day, okay? Because I never got that chance, I never got to give him one last 'I love you' before he died in the hospital…"

"But why do I have to suffer now?" Heena shouted, pushing away from my hug. "Why did you have to suffer? Why does my father have to suffer now? Why couldn't it have been a different family-" her fist collided with a tree, her knuckles began to bleed but she showed no signs of knowing, she showed no pain, only anger. "-Why me? I ask myself that every night when I cry to sleep; I can hear him at night, he doesn't know though. I can hear him crying because he's afraid too. And if he can't be strong, _how can I?_"

"When you get home…" I whispered, my hand forcing her to face me and stare me in the eyes. "I want you to sing to your father to help him sleep, you have a beautiful voice; let him know you're scared, too. Let him know you care about him, that the two of you need to be strong together. Also…" I paused, forcing back the tears that were gathering and threatening to spill. I had to be strong in this moment, I didn't want Heena to know about the problems of this night, not when she had been so… "When your father passes, let your mother know you're there for her. Heal together, not apart…"

"Why…?" Heena whispered back. I smiled at her, closing my eyes as a single tear slid down my cheek.

"Because I know from personal experience that healing apart will do no good. Now listen to me." I tapped her cheek lovingly. "Go back home now." Heena turned to walk away, she had almost disappeared when she stopped and turned to face me again.

"Thank you, Sensei…" She smiled back at me, a genuine smile, before turning and running back to the dojo. I watched her walk away before I collapsed behind a tree, out of sight of anyone who'd happen to pass by. I sighed tiredly, leaning against a tree, happy with the fact it was summer, meaning the night spent outside wouldn't be cold.

Before I fell asleep I thought I'd seen an eye watching me, it sort of looked as if it was made of sand to be exact, but instead of wondering about it I ignored it. I hadn't cared at that moment; I blew it off, I was probably just too tired to think straight anymore. I had a long day… and I still had to wake up early tomorrow to get ramen with Naruto. I sighed, closing my eyes and humming softly to myself.

It was just another lonely night.


	11. Chapter 11

It felt like I hadn't slept at all; my back ached and my head was throbbing, however I didn't much feel like lying around all day. Plus, I had to go meet Naruto at Ichiraku's… I forced myself up, rubbing my head again before peeking out from behind the tree. The eye worried me; I curiously looked around to see if it was anywhere, however it wasn't. I sighed. Maybe I had just been seeing things.

I started off down the path, turning to look at the large dojo in the distance. I wondered if Heena had made it home okay last night; I'd have to wait until next week to speak to her again. I entered the alley and saw my home, well; it used to be my home. Hopefully Naruto could help me get everything I needed; maybe I'd ask him after we were done eating.

It took me a few minutes to walk to Ichiraku's; by the time I arrived Naruto had already eaten a few bowls of ramen and was starting on another one. I smiled, seeing him being the goofball he was suddenly put me in a good mood. I'd push off the thoughts of last night and anything involving my mother until after I had enjoyed my time with Naruto. He was leaving, after all.

"Naruto-kun!" He turned to me, slurping up the rest of the noodles that were hanging out of his mouth before smiling and rubbing the back of his head.

"Kay-chan! I didn't expect you to show up…" He blushed a bit.

"Why wouldn't I?" I smiled, giggling as I did so, causing Naruto to direct his attention back to his bowl of ramen.

"What can I get you young lady?" The man behind the counter smiled at me. "It's always nice when Naruto brings in customers for us." I laughed as Naruto grinned widely.

"Ichiraku's has the best ramen around, believe it!" I ordered some beef ramen and dug in as it came to me. I hadn't had anything to eat since last afternoon.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, would you like to help me with something?" He looked at me curiously, still piling the ramen into his mouth. "I've temporarily moved my housing situation…" I didn't really want Naruto to ask too many questions, if I told him what happened and we ran into my mother, he'd say something to her, and I wanted to avoid anymore confrontation with her for now. "…and I got to sneak into the house, get my clothes and other possessions, and then get out. You want to help me?" Naruto nodded rapidly.

"We'll play ninja!" He boasted loudly. I had to look at him for a second to realize whether or not he was being serious.

"Naruto, we **are **ninja…" He stopped, blushing again and laughing nervously.

"O-Oh yeah, heh heh heh." I smiled; he really was an adorable guy.

"So, will you help me?"

"Of course!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "It's a mission to prove my sneakiness; I won't disappoint you, BELIEVE IT!" Naruto nearly knocked over the empty ramen bowls that had been previously drained by him. The owner gave him a stern look and Naruto apologized with a blush. "When should we move out, boss?"

"After I'm done eating." I winked at him as the bowl of ramen was pushed in front of my face. I needed a full stomach before being able to think of a plan, after all. Good thing Naruto was buying.

"Blackbird, repeating, blackbird, do you read me?" Naruto whispered.

"I'm right here Naru-"

"Use the code names!" Naruto shouted. So far the stealth mission wasn't going to well. Naruto had insisted on making it like a real mission, code names and ear pieces, and all.

"Alright orange flash… That name is stupid Naruto, it makes me think of a piece of fruit lifting up its shirt when the fridge opens and flashing me-"

"Shh!" Naruto shushed me. We jumped on the roof, and approached the window to my room carefully. We slid onto the balcony and Naruto checked the door; It was opened. We slipped inside my room and I gently closed the door behind me; Naruto gasped when he saw it.

"My picture…" I murmured, walking over to my bed and touching the torn pieces of what used to be a picture of me and my team. I suddenly felt glad that I'd kept the picture of my father with me; would she have torn that up in a rage, too? My clothes had been thrown about the room, most being torn and ripped to shreds, but a few mismatched pairs still existed. She had completely torn my room apart.

"Naruto, pack any clothes that aren't torn into the bag, could you? I'll be down in the kitchen; I have to get something my mother took away from me." Naruto nodded, reaching around the room and gathering clothes while I slipped into the hall. My mother's door was closed tightly, she must've been out doing something with Sayune, for her door was slightly open as well. I was tempted to search her room again; but the necklace I wanted to find came first.

My dad had bought me the necklace the day I had opened my eyes, it was a water droplet on a silver chain, it was to represent my element. My day had one of a leaf, his element being nature and all. It was a tradition to buy their child a symbol of their element, after we'd arrived in the village my mother had taken it from me and throw it into the junk drawer in the kitchen.

The house was different, it looked slightly askew, as if everything had been torn apart and hastily thrown back together. All but my room, of course. I searched throw the drawers in the kitchen sifting through them until a glint caught my eyes. I smiled as I pulled out the chain and dangled it in front of my eyes; I had found it.

The front door clicked open and I dropped down so that the table hid me; I peeked out to see who it was. It was my mother, looking tired and angry as always. She was glaring around the room, before she stomped up the stairs.

"Orange flash, retreat! Leave with the clothes you have and go out my window now. Mama Roach is walking upstairs now."

"Right!" Naruto replied; I sighed, crawling towards the stairs as quietly as I could with creaking floorboards and stared up them. From the angle I was at I could see her in front of my room, she was staring at the door way and biting her lip, enough to make her bleed. I scowled at her; maybe she should've treated me better if she hadn't wanted to lose me.

I began to panic as her hand pushed the door open; she'd discover the missing clothes and items from my room. Hopefully Naruto had escaped; I heard her let out an angry yell. She must've realized I'd been there. I threw away any of the cover I had retained and bolted for the door, I exited the house with a loud slam. I had to let her know it was me, I had to let her know I had control over what I did and I wasn't afraid of her…

Naruto had escaped with some of my clothes; he met me at the front door. I glimpsed her face on the balcony; she was obviously looking for the intruders now. Naruto had hightailed, I laughed as I tried to catch up from behind him. The break-in left me feel exhilarated and like laughing, Naruto seemed to be in the same good mood.

"We did it!" Naruto cheered, high-fiving me with a goofy grin on his face. "We're master ninja's, believe it!" Naruto hadn't realized however, that he had been caught in the middle of searching a certain drawer that had, how could I put this, my unmentionables, in them. And there he was, with a light pink bra in his hands, waving it around as if it was a flag.

"Naruto-kun!" I cried out, snatching the bra from his hands and blushing profusely. I was lucky we weren't in an incredibly crowded place or it would've been more awkward. Naruto realized his mistake and blushed sheepishly.

"S-Sorry Kay-chan!" I shook it off, taking my clothes from him and stuffing the bra in the bag.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. Now I just need a place to keep these-"

"What're you two doing?" Sakura came from behind us, her hands behind her back as she regarded us suspiciously.

"We broke into Kay-chans house and played ninja!" Sakura scowled at Naruto.

"How can you play ninja when you ARE a ninja?" Sakura scolded him, wagging a finger at him before turning to look at me. "Why would you need to break into your own house?

"Well, I'll tell you both, I suppose…" I murmured, I then told them the whole tale, including everything that had happened last night and how I'd slept outside. Sakura looked at me concerned while Naruto looked enraged.

"It's people like her that keep bringing Gaara down!" He shouted angrily. "That's why he turned out the way he has!" Sakura tried to calm Naruto down.

"But… doesn't he have Kay-chan now? I mean, she did stand up for him…" Sakura smiled at me. "You should see the way he looks at you." I turned red under Naruto's unbelieving stare.

"How does he look at me?" I asked curiously; it was always nice to see another's view point on Gaara.

"Well normally he's all scary and emotionless, right? Well whenever you're around he's generally a bit calmer, I think he likes you. Plus, can't you see the way his eyes change when you're around?" She smiled. "It may only last a few seconds but a girl should be able to see every single emotion going through them at once. And also, I don't think he generally let anyone close to him besides his siblings either."

"He has siblings?"

"Kankuro and Temari, his teammates-"

"They look nothing alike!" I gaped. Sakura laughed a bit.

"Gaara's always been the odd one out…"

"That's what we have in common." Naruto commented. "We were always left out, we didn't have any friends and we were feared. We were called demons and we got used to being called it. It… It doesn't faze him anymore. Kankuro wrote to us and said he was trying to change, to become the Kazekage!" Sakura looked shocked at this.

"B-but he's so…" Sakura seemed slightly worried.

"He's like me. He wants to know what it's like to be appreciated." Naruto grinned. "He used to be a bad guy, but now he's good. All thanks to me! Heh heh heh." Sakura smacked Naruto in the head; I laughed in response to this. Gaara had, too, implied that Naruto had changed him for the better…

"I think he'd make a good Kazekage." I commented off-handedly. "He knows pain better than anyone else, so I don't think they'd suffer…" Naruto grinned, patting me on the back.

"I didn't know you had a think for the broody type, Kay-chan!" I blushed.

"S-stop!" Sakura got between us before any other arguments could ensue.

"If you'd like, you could keep your stuff at my house for the time being. You could stay, if you wanted."

"N-no! I wouldn't want to impose. I just need to put my clothes somewhere while I make a few requests around the village." I already had something in my mind that I wanted to do. I wanted to request a move to another village; of course I'd have to request it from Tsunade-sama first, however, there was another group of people I wanted to speak to first. I would need to reside somewhere after all, and if what Sakura said was true, I hoped they'd accept my offer.

"I'll show you where my house is then." She smiled, taking my stuff from my arms.

"H-hey, I can carry it!" She ignored my outreaching hands and looked at Naruto.

"Tell Tsunade-sama that Kay-sama wants to speak with her later-" Naruto was about to protest but Sakura's glare convinced him it was in his best interest to do as she said. He hurried off, muttering 'Scary, so scary…' before he was lost among the throngs of people. Sakura smiled, leading me in the opposite direction.

We came upon a small house, light pink in color, and entered.

"Mom, I'm home!" Sakura called out. We were greeted by a thin, kind look woman with a slightly large forehead. Her eyes were a shade of green that slightly reminded me of my fathers and her pink hair fell over her shoulders and ended at her waist.

"Welcome home, Sakura, darling!" Her mother greeted her rather cheerfully; I envied the fact she had a mom who loved her so much. "Your dad would really like if you'd join us tonight, you know how he gets after those long missions." Sakura nods, looking exhausted. This is what I missed about being a family though, I missed eating dinner with my father, gathering together afterward to read a book, or watch TV. My mother had really been a different person when my father was around.

"I'll be here mom. This is Kaylyn Uzimo; she's going to leave her stuff here for awhile, okay?" Sakura already began heading up the stairs of her house, but I remained in my spot awkwardly.

"Alright darling!" Sakura's mother turned to me with a smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Kaylyn. Sakura doesn't bring any of her friends back to the house really; although she and Ino have been making up, thank goodness! I really liked Ino…" She turned around in the kitchen and began to wash dishes. "I was so worried when Sakura had told me her and Ino weren't friends anymore, honestly, Ino's such a good girl! And I used to such good friends with her father…"

'That's what a mother is supposed to do.' I thought with a frown. 'She's supposed to worry about her child, she's supposed to care. This woman seems so gentle; I doubt she's ever hit Sakura or demeaned her…' I sighed again. My life definitely wasn't a normal one.

Most girls still had their parents; most girls still had their fathers around to be overprotective of them. I had a dead father and an estranged mother. A mother I didn't ever want to see again, even though I was filled with guilt on how I'd left her.

'But you're not normal.' A voice in the back of my head whispered. 'That's why you saw potential in Heena, that's why Gaara has taken an interest in you, that's why you're friends with two Jinchiruki's. Because you're not like the average person. You're much more sensitive.'

I sighed. Maybe all the pain I had been through was the reason I was this way today, it was the reason why I didn't discriminate. I would believe in those who needed someone to believe in them, I would love someone who needed to be loved. Sayune had commented on that before, she had told me a long time ago that I… that I knew how to make a person feel special. This sounded perverted, even to me, but it was her words that made me realize I liked that feeling. I wanted to make people feel special.

"There we go." Sakura came downstairs, bidding her mother goodbye until later and leaving with me. I was walking beside Sakura when something came to my mind.

"Your mother…" I started softly. "She really loves you. You can tell." Sakura blushes a bit, but smiles.

"I know. It's just sometimes she can be SO annoying with her pestering about my life!" I frowned again.

"I'd rather my mom pester with my life than hit me every time I stepped a toe out of line." Sakura suddenly looked incredibly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, Kay-sama! I wasn't thinking before I talked…" She bowed in apology, for a second Heena flashed to mind before Sakura appeared again. "Come on, you have one more stop to make before you see Tsunade-sama right?"

"Yes… Do you know where the sand ninja are staying?" Sakura stopped, putting a finger on her lip and appearing to be deep in thought. "Since they're visitors, I believe they'll be in the hotel." She pointed to a big building that was just off to the right. "I'll wait out here; I need to do some shopping for herbs Tsunade-sama needed…" Sakura left me before I had the time to question her on their room number. I sighed, not like she'd really know anyway, unless she was having an illicit love affair with Kankuro. I laughed as I imagined a pink haired baby with purple face paint all over its face; my laugh was enough to make people around in the streets stare at me oddly.

The hotel was huge; I'd have an absolutely ridiculous time trying to find my way to their rooms. What was I supposed to do? Would the front desk give me their room number? Or would I be forced to navigate through the many floors until I found their room? What if none of them were even in there? What if they had left already! I let out a frustrated sigh; I hadn't thought any of it through before I came here. I did tell Gaara I'd see him today though…

"Ah, Kaylyn?" A surprised voice called from behind me. I turned to meet the curious blue-green eyes of Temari.

"Temari, my savior!" I cried out happily. "You've saved my life-" She raised her eyebrow, looking at me as if I was a three headed alien. She seemed to be the kindest of the three, so I decided mentioning this plan to her first might be best. If she didn't agree than Kankuro definitely wouldn't, and I didn't want to just have Gaara's approval, you know, if he did approve or something…

"You want to live with us?" One short explanation later, Temari and I had taken to standing in the dining room instead of in front of the doors entrance, her arms were crossed and her foot tapped against the ground as she thought. "It'd be nice to have another girl living in the house, that's for sure. Kankuro's a complete pig! Gaara's normally taking care of himself…" Temari looked like she was thinking hard about it.

"I-I could help you out." I murmured, I was desperate to get away from this village. I wanted to distance myself from my mother as much as I could, before things between us got worse. She smirked a bit at me.

"I leave things up to Gaara. So you'll have to plead your case to him, but I don't think he'll turn you down…"

"Why?" I asked, my cheeks flushed. She smiled at me, putting a hand on my shoulder and pushing me forward.

"I just have a feeling." As we were exiting I heard a familiar voice ring out.

"Thanks Shika!" Sayune's voice rang through my ears. "It's nice to have a place to stay for now."

"Yeah…" Shikamaru replied. "What a drag…" I hid behind Temari, using her as my shield. Sayune was staying in this hotel now? Maybe that's why her door was ajar when we snuck into the house; my mother had kicked her out and thrown the responsibility of watching her on another.

Temari was glaring at Sayune in annoyance but said nothing, instead she shielding me from view as we headed up the stairs to the floor where their room was. She had hoped Gaara was still in there; after all he did have the tendency to leave without saying where he was going. She took out her key and opened the door, pulling me along as we entered.

It was a pretty big hotel room, a suite, I thought silently as I gazed around. Three large beds were placed around the room, including a couch where Kankuro was sitting, toying with his puppet. He didn't bother looking up when Temari walked in, instead unscrewing the jaw to his puppet and tweaking it. Temari scowled at him.

"Where's Gaara?"

"Walking around the hotel? His gourd isn't over there." He pointed to the bed farthest from the door with the screwdriver. "I don't think he'd go off, he seemed pretty annoyed when he came back last night." I frowned, was he mad because I had just left him with no explanation, or was it because of my mother's words?

"We have to find him." I stated, knowing full well Sayune would have something to say to him. Temari nodded; Kankuro looked up from what I was doing and grinned at me.

"Oh, finally find your way to Gaara's bedroom? What a girl you are." I turned red and scowled; Temari gave her brother a resounding whack on his head with her fan before escorting me from the room. I could only hope he was in the hotel so that I could speak to him.

"There sounds like there's a commotion going on downstairs…" A few people passing by were whispering to each other; Temari and I shared a glance before running down the hall towards the stairs. Once we had reached them, I could hear the commotion for myself. It was Sayune for sure.

"Who do you think you are!" She screeched loudly. As we came upon the scene, I took note it was Shikamaru who was holding her back. Gaara was standing calmly a ways from her, his eyes cold as he looked at her. Temari scowled again, running to her brother's side.

Sayune hadn't ever done this before, she would've respected the fact I liked him and connected with him, she wouldn't go around doing this. She seemed so much angrier. When she looked at me, the betrayal in her eyes had suddenly become so evident. I had been blaming myself for this all along, I had been telling myself it was my fault that she had turned on me, and I had wanted to repair our friendship. But I knew know, seeing her oppose Gaara so fervently that I'd…

I had truly lost my best friend.


	12. Chapter 12

Sayune's eyes drifted over and immediately found mine.

"Kay-chan!" She shouted loudly. "You'll defend me, right?" Shikamaru looked at me and sighed a bit, his strong grip on Sayune still not ceasing. She growled at him, she would've attacked him if she hadn't been on probation. Well, maybe she would. I wasn't quite sure who I was dealing with anymore.

"Sayune. I… We need to talk." She looked at me curiously, stopping her attempts at fighting off Shikamaru. All four ninja's eyes were on me, and I couldn't think of what to say. I didn't want to say this in front of anyone, but I knew I had to for… for my own safety. Or maybe I didn't, I couldn't tell anymore. Being around Sayune now only tended to confuse me.

"I don't want you think that I'm not defending you because of Gaara… or because of this move to Konoha. I… I'm sorry. I see you every day, and I think you look the same, but the way you act is so different. Sometimes it's like… it's like I'm staring at a complete stranger." Sayune turned to me her eyes turning blank as my words sunk in. Everyone, except Gaara, had winced at my words. Even I felt my heart break a little, but I had to do this. I had to break all ties I had with my past, and move on with my life. It was obvious she wouldn't approve of anything.

"You can't just do that." She stated suddenly. Her eyes stared at me coldly; I could see the tears gathering in them though. "You can't just do that to me!" She stomped her foot and lurched forward, before Shikamaru could reach for her again she was standing in front of me and practically in my face. "You can't just abandon me after all you've done! You've done it once, how could you try and do it again!"

"Because best friends are supposed to be accepting of the others choices, Sayune. Or they're at least supposed to tolerate them-"

"Sorry I'm worried about your well-being due to you taking interest in a monster-"

"This is what I mean!" I hadn't meant to shout at her, but the rage inside of me had been building up. "This isn't how you used to be. You used to be kind and accepting of everyone, and now you're running around bitterly judging all those around you. What's happened to you? You used to love danger, you-" She pushed me back, earning an evil glare from Gaara, and headed back towards Shikamaru.

"And you used to care about me. But I guess what you said is right, I've changed. People change and you're proof of that, aren't you?" She hissed angrily. She left with Shikamaru on her tail; she left me standing there watching after her. The need to apologize rose in my head but I knew I couldn't do it, I had to stick to my word. I had to be as strong as I was for others, for myself. But I watched her leave with tears in my eyes and a broken heart.

"I do care…" I whispered. Temari placed a hand on my shoulder, giving me a sad smile. I gave her a weak on in return and instead turned to face Gaara. He was watching me, his eyes remaining on my face as I stepped closer to him. "I-I have a request…"

"I can't believe she did this to me!" Sayune screamed her fist connecting hard with the stone wall she had punched. She had left a slight indent in the wall and her knuckles had begun to bleed profusely, but she didn't care. The pain coursing through her heart distracted her from any physical pain she had begun to felt. "I was such a good friend and she just… ditches me for him!" She had thankfully escaped Shikamaru's sight.

Tonight was the night, she thought, her eyes glaring angrily before her. She'd be leaving tonight, returning to Haru to give him the report on the Leaf's defensive strategies and any other information she had to give forth. She scoffed as she looked back the Leaf Village in disdain.

"You took the only friend I could trust." She whispered, her angry glare suddenly turning to one a person would pity. She looked like a kicked puppy. "Haru was right. I can't trust anyone who'd just leave me behind." As she shifted her way through the forest, she heard the sounds of another. She scowled silently, crouching in some bushes. It was that girl that Kaylyn had befriended… Sayune scowled, taking a kunai from her pouch and slowly sneaking up on an unsuspecting Heena.

"This is for taking her!" Sayune shouted.

A scream of pain echoed through the forest, and then all was silent.

Gaara and I were alone on the rooftop, sitting and watch the moon together. My eyes kept drifting to my house; it was obvious it bothered me more than I could say. Gaara looked at me again, and I tried to search for the emotions Sakura had said she could see.

"Gaara-kun…" I murmured, for a second I thought I could see it, that little flash where he looked happy, and then he composed himself. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't." He stated simply, turning to look at the moon. I really couldn't get over how could he looked in the moonlight. "You can have my bed."

I looked at him confused.

"Your bed?" He nodded.

"In the room."

"O-oh." I blushed a bit, remembering that he didn't sleep. "I couldn't do that…"

"Sleeping outside is better?" I had expected a comment like that from him; my eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"How did you know I slept outside?" He looked at me for a second, before placing his hand over his eye. Sand began to formulate in the air until it turned into the shape of an eye that peered around at its surroundings before landing on me. He dispelled the jutsu and looked away from me.

"Y-You watch me with that?" I squeaked, my cheeks turning bright red. With ability like that, it's no wonder I got the chills when I was alone, he probably spied on me while I was in my room, just like he did that night in the forest.

"I feel uneasy when you're not around…" He closed his eyes. "I use it to make sure you're safe." I blushed; he worried about me when I wasn't around? That was cute, to say the least. I felt my heart flutter a bit as I saw his cheeks turn light pink, hard to notice if you weren't really looking.

"Thanks…" I murmured suddenly, he turned to me with a surprised look. "People don't normally care about me, they think I can fend for myself and don't really worry. N-not that it's not true! I can! B-but it's nice to feel… cared about…" By now I was completely flustered and had my face buried in my hands; I can't believe I had just said that! After the whole Sayune thing I hadn't been able to think clearly.

"No one's ever defended me before…" Gaara said in reply to my rant. He turned to look at me and I tilted my head curiously.

"W-What are you looking at?" My eyes widened as his hand reached forward to cup my cheek. His eyes bore into mine; they were such a lovely color.

"You're beautiful." I let out a tiny gasp, almost tempted to clean out my ears to see if I had heard correctly. Had he really called me beautiful? I squeezed my eyes shut, maybe this was a dream and I'd wake up now and be disappointed. However the next time I opened my eyes, he was still there, and I still felt his hand on my cheek. I placed mine over his, innocently stroking it while the eye contact continued.

"Kay-sama!" Damn it, damn it, damn it! Who was breaking this utterly perfect moment? Sakura stood in front of me, ignoring the fact we were stuck in a sort of awkward position. I noted at first she was covered in blood, she also looked panicked. "Please, it's Heena-san, come with me!" At Heena's name I jumped up, my heart jolting in my chest.

"What's wrong with Heena!" I cried out, a bit louder than I had meant to. My legs began to get shaky as Sakura explained that she and Tsunade had heard something odd while the two of them were collecting a report from the guards at the front gate, and they had found her lying there. Her wounds were deep and her status was depleting… She had asked for me and Sakura had set out to find me.

"Let's go!" I looked back at Gaara; my eyes must've looked pleading as he stood up.

"I'll meet you there." He replied shortly. I nodded, following Sakura as we ran down the street to the Hospital. My heart was beating a million beats per second as I thought about what could've happened to Heena. Had she had another attack due to her disease? No, she wouldn't be bleeding like that. Heena… I tried to say focused on Sakura but my thoughts were more concentrated on Heena and how she was. Her health couldn't have been good, it sounded like a lot of blood had been spilled, and Heena's disease made her weak as it was.

Sakura easily bypassed the rest of the medic ninjas, holding onto my hand tightly. Gaara was waiting at the door to Heena's room for me, his arms crossed as a medic ninja questioned them. Sakura quickly explained that he was with us before we entered the room. Tsunade was standing beside Heena, blocking my view.

"M-move!" I pushed a medic ninja from way, realizing it was rude, but not really caring at the moment.

Heena was pale beyond comparison, her eyes were closed and cuts adorned her face. Her skin easily bruised; she had a dark purple mark on her neck leading down to her chest. Her abdomen was bleeding heavily, a nurse was patching her up now as Tsunade used attempted to heal another stab wound in her lung.

"H-Heena…" I felt the tears gathering in my eyes as I stared at her battered body. Who could've done this to her? Heena… A medic ninja asked me to move and I was forced to; I moved back to stand beside Gaara and Sakura. The pink haired medic ninja gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze before joining Tsunade in healing Heena. I was given a seat, which I gratefully took as my legs began to get weaker the many hours I was standing there.

Gaara didn't leave my side; he took off his gourd and placed it next to him, as he had taken to leaning against the wall with crossed arms and closed eyes. I was getting sleepier but I just couldn't go to sleep, what if something happened when I passed out? I couldn't sleep until I talked to Heena again. I sighed softly as I heard birds chirping outside; the morning hours had already started and Heena had finally been helped as much as she could.

She was bandaged up, her stomach, arms, and neck completely covered in the white cloth to prevent any cuts from opening and bleeding again. They were minor wounds and her pierced lung had been taken care of. I sighed softly, taking my place beside her as all the medics exited the room. Gaara stayed in his spot, choosing to watch me carefully.

Heena's breathing had become even after the hours of work they had put in on her, her fingers twitched now and again and she turned about in her sleep, but her moving was limited. I had begun to wonder when her eyes would open again, when Sakura stepped in once more to hand me her medical report.

"She was still conscious when we found her…" Sakura shook her head. "She was going off about seeing oddly colored eyes, she said they were-"

"S-Sakura-chan…" Heena's voice was hardly above a whisper but I had heard it. I whipped around and leaned down to her.

"Heena!" Her eyes fluttered open slowly, appearing unfocused at first before they looked over at me. She smilled weakly.

"Sensei! I didn't think you'd come to visit me…" She suddenly coughed hard, blood splattering on the sheets.

"I'll get new ones." Sakura stated before leaving the room to fetch the seats. Heena stared at the blood that had been splattered on the sheets before smiling weakly at me.

"I got… pretty messed up, huh?" Her eyes watered as she leaned back on the pillows; her hands gripped the sheets tightly, turning her knuckles white. "I really haven't been getting stronger after all…"

"Yes you have…" I murmured softly, stroking her hand gently. "You have been."

"But I got beat so easily…" She whimpered, her one hand touching the wound on her abdomen.

"You survived, didn't you?" I smiled at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "You're getting stronger and stronger every day."

"Thank you, sensei." She seemed distracted, slightly out of it. I figured it was because the blood loss, but something else had been bothering her. "Sensei… I have a request." I looked at her curiously.

"What is it, Heena?" She glanced nervously at Gaara, who had been silently observing out conversation.

"Don't worry about him, he won't tell anyone what you have to say." She nodded.

"My father is… is dying. His condition is worse than before…" She clenched her fists again, squeezing her eyes shut but not before a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "He collapsed the other day; any day now he could die. I have to be home, please. Please help me escape from here and take me home…"

"Heena, I can't! You're still healing. You shouldn't even think of moving with all those wounds." I scolded. She looked at me, disappointed.

"B-but I can't… I can't…" Her eyes watered again. "I didn't have a chance to say goodbye…" I bit my lip; my mind was telling me it was a completely stupid idea to possibly even consider doing it, my heart told me otherwise. Who was I to deprive her of saying goodbye to her father before he died… I could help her get the chance I never had.

I placed my hand on her head, pushing her bangs back and giving her a reassuring smile.

"I'll figure something out; you'll see him by tonight." Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward to wrap her arms around me, but winced in pain from her wounds and fell right back on the Hospital bed. "We'll be returning immediately afterwards, Heena. I'll never forgive you if you bleed all over my back!" I teased her, stroking her hair lovingly. Gaara was watching me curiously, especially as I left her side to sit down as a few medic ninjas re-entered to speak with her and change her sheets.

I sighed, rubbing my temples in pain. I already had a headache from the fact I'd have to break Heena out of a Hospital. Gaara glanced down at me before commenting.

"You acted like… like you were her mother…" I looked up at him curiously. "In the village I've seen mothers handle their children with the same gentleness you used with her.

"She's fragile…" I murmured back in response. "It feels like if I don't look out for her, she'll be all alone. I know what it's like to be alone in the world; I don't want her to feel like I had." I crossed my arms. "Will you help cover for me tonight?" He looked down at me, his eyes curiously searching mine to see if I was serious before he nodded.

"You care about her…" The smallest of smiles made its way to his face for a few seconds before falling.

"I do…" I murmured softly before making myself comfortable in the chair and catching up on my sleep.

If I was going to break Heena out, I'd definitely need the energy.

e


	13. Chapter 13

A light rain had begun to fall that afternoon; I had taken to staring out the window of Heena's hospital room. I hadn't left her room since I had gotten here late last night, or was it early morning when I arrived? The time seemed to mesh together the more I waited around in this dull hospital room. It didn't feel right for me to leave, Heena was a timid person, and how would she react being alone in a hospital with no one around that she knew? Plus, it made me feel more informed with me here rather than if I was out in town and away from her, I wasn't comfortable with that yet.

It had been running through my mind all day, the fact I had even promised Heena I'd break her out was ridiculous. I couldn't think of a good way to free her without getting the attention of all the medic ninja's, so I had decided on winging it. I had to get her out; Gaara had agreed to provide a distraction to help me with her escape… The window in her room would do, it wasn't too high up, and I could easily jump down with Heena on my back to escape. The problem was re-opening her wounds. I could heal her, but that would cause a big lapse in time.

I sighed in frustration, placing my head against the cool glass of the window. I hadn't believed the things that had happened to be me in the last few months. I had lost my mother, and I had lost the best friend I had ever had. I couldn't even think about what had happened to her, what had made her become so judgmental and angry? I believed firmly that everything had a cause behind it; I'd just have to wait awhile to delve into Sayune's problem to help her. I had other important things awaiting me tonight.

I glanced back at Gaara, who hadn't moved from his spot beside the chair. His eyes were closed and he constantly appeared to be thinking; whenever my back was turned to him I felt his eyes on me. My motherly instinct seemed to kick in around Heena, not only was I protective towards her, I really… cared about her. Like she was a sibling that I'd never had the pleasure of having. Maybe it was her gentle nature that made me want to protect her so much, but one thing I knew was that she had begun to depend on me, and I wasn't going to let her down.

"I hate hospitals…" Heena whispered softly, her eyes travelling around the room. I shot her a curious look. "It brings back bad memories."

"Like what?" I mentally smacked myself for asking such a stupid question, her father was sick, of course he'd been in a hospital.

"Well…" Heena murmured. "The day we found out about how serious my father's illness was, I was six years old. He'd woken up one morning with horrible chest pains, it hurt him to get out of bed but he still did, because he'd made a promise to my mother to take me into town. I wasn't allowed out much, I was a sickly kid, so being taken into town was always the highlight of my day. He did as he promised, and took me out to town, but he… collapsed in the middle of the street. Apparently he couldn't feel his body and it was hard for him to move; we had to take him to the hospital to get him checked out. No one found a single problem; they just gave him useless medicine that wouldn't do anything. But we traveled around for awhile, trying to find a ninja that'd be able to tell us. We finally found Tsunade-sama… And it all went downhill from there…"

I had taken my place on the bed beside her as I listened to her tale. I could feel my heart crumbling after each word; I had thought my life had sucked and was depressing, but I had never realized someone else had it worse. I was beginning to appreciate everything I had once taken for granted.

"Did you know that one day he even lost all his memories?" Heena tried hard to smile through the tears that were streaming down her face. "And he didn't know who he was, but he knew he was sick. And he looked at me and said "Am I going to die?" and I ran away. I ran away because I couldn't take the pain I was going through having to watch him in the Hospital, not remembering a thing about me or my mother. I knew I'd have to return, but I was dreading it. I felt so selfish. I am selfish." She sniffled and wiped away tears; I was choking back my own tears.

"But I began to realize he was the one suffering because he'd never get to see me grow up. He'd never see my kids or husband or anything involving my future because he had diagnosed with an incurable disease. He hated himself. I found the letters he wrote, the suicide notes he wrote, the letters saying how he wished to die because he hated to see the pain on our faces. But I never told him. I never told him how I saw them and from that day on, I knew I had to try to be strong. It wasn't until you came along that I had learned what being strong meant. I'm glad I met you."

With one last stab of pain to my heart, the tears flowed freely from my eyes as I gave her a grateful smile. Heena had done the one thing I had wished for my whole life; she made me feel appreciated.

"Thank you." I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her, allowing her to sob into my arms. I could only imagine the thoughts running through Gaara's head as he watched this sob fest. He must've thought girls were incredibly sensitive and hormonal. Maybe he'd be thrown off women forever for this little show of feelings.

The doctor came in a requested to check on Heena, so Gaara and I were forced from the room to the hall. I sighed as I glanced down the empty hallways. No one was rushing around like they had last night when Heena had been in danger; it was quite peaceful.

"Kaylyn…" I shivered as he said my name; my eyes met his and I could feel the sparks flying through the air as he spoke again. "Why did you…hug her?" He seemed genuinely confused, which I found to be rather cute.

"To make ourselves feel better…" I tried to find the words to explain to him why, but it was harder than I thought. "We were both feeling sad, so we hugged."

"Seeing you sad…" He started again, averting his eyes. "…Made me unhappy." My heart decided to speed up a little bit, just to make me uncomfortable and more flushed, as it seemed to know when I was pleased. He said nothing else, instead grabbing onto my arm and pulling me into his. For such a small person he did have some strength. I flushed once I had realized he was actually hugging me. A bit tightly, to be honest, but the closer I was to him, the faster my heart began to beat in my chest. I closed my eyes and smiled, gently hugging back.

He released me, a bit too soon for my liking, but gave me a curious look.

"Do you… feel better?" He asked. I blushed a bit; when it came to social situations, he wasn't the best at making things feel natural. In fact he made me feel a bit awkward, but I also found that fact adorable. He must not have had much affection given to him when he was younger; it was why he didn't understand what hugs meant. I hoped I'd be able to explain what a kiss meant later…

As I wiped the thoughts from my head the door opened the man invited us back in. Heena had fallen asleep while he worked on her, so I took to sitting in the chair and watching her carefully. The thought of breaking out tonight still made me nervous.

The time passed by slowly and soon it was time, Heena's rounds had been finished and she was getting antsy, ready to leave the Hospital. Gaara left to cause his distraction, all Heena and I could do was stand here and wait for Gaara to make his move.

As we heard loud crashing sounds from the floor above, I realized it was my time to move. If a medic ninja happened to come into the room, they'd assume Heena was moved by another, and hopefully I'd have her back quick enough that no one would notice a thing. I opened the hospital window and coaxed her out; she was weak however she was able to crawl onto the roof before clambering onto my back. I made sure I had a strong hold on her before I jumped down and started towards the Dojo.

It was a good ways from the Hospital, but I persevered for Heena's sake. I didn't need her getting sick with worry over her father. Heena relaxed her head on my shoulder, closing her eyes and letting out a sad sigh. I knew exactly what she was thinking; what would it be like when she saw her father again? I got odd looks from the few people who were still on the streets, but I ignored them as I continued towards my destination.

Soon enough the dojo came into place and I felt Heena squirm on my back. I let her free; as she would be the only reason the guards would let her pass. They weren't at their normal posts, however, which seemed to get Heena worked up. She dashed into the dojo, nearly leaving me behind but I managed to catch up. We came upon a room where her father was laying, her mother and the two guards surrounding him. At our entrance Heena's mom stood and gave her daughter a strong hug before whispering 'He won't last much longer.'

Her father had looked even sicker than he had the first time I saw him; his eyes were sunken in, his skin pale, and lips dry. His eyes shifted over to where Heena was standing before he managed a weak smile.

"My beautiful girl…" His voice was low and weak; he was beckoning Heena to come closer. I could see the pain flash through her eyes, but she moved forward, kneeling beside him and holding his hand. "Do you remember when you were little girl and we went to see those fireworks?" She nodded.

"And they were in all different shapes and you were so intrigued." She let out a shaky laugh as her father's smile grew.

"I remember…" He stated softly. "It's a pity that you and I hadn't been able to get out much together." Heena shook her head.

"Don't worry about that, father. Being here with you was enough." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You don't have to lie, Heena…" His eyes shifted over to me. "Is that lovely girl that's been training you?" She motioned for me to come closer, I did as I was told, kneeling beside Heena next to him. "It's lovely to meet you."

"Lovely to meet you, too." I smiled at him, even though I had only felt like crying. This reminded me of my own father's death, these past few days had been taking a large toll on my heart. Heena squeezed his hand tighter.

"How's Heena been doing? Honesty, please." I blushed a bit under his intense gave, he may have been slowly dying but his eyes still had life in them.

"She's been improving greatly. Still a bit of kinks here and there, but the harder she trains the quicker she'll be able to work them out." Her father nodded, using his left hand to cough into. Heena gave her father another worried look before he turned to gaze at her again.

"I'm dying Heena." He stated suddenly. "I want you to stick with this girl though. She'll take you far."

"Dad…" Heena murmured. I stood up, leaving my spot and letting Heena's mother take it. He looked over at his wife and smiled.

"You've made the years we've had together wonderful dear. Don't be afraid to find love again."

"Oh you silly old coot…" Her mother stroked his face softly, a small smile on her face. "You were my one and only. You hold the other half of my heart; no one will ever be able to live up to my expectations." They shared a short laugh before it turned into a coughing fit.

"My beautiful women…" He smiled, looking from Heena to his wife. "I'm glad the last thing I see before I die is your lovely faces."

"I love you daddy." Heena whispered softly, leaning forward and placing a kiss on his forehead. Her mother followed suit, instead placing a chaste kiss on the lips. "I'll miss you…"

"And I you, Heena. But you must remember one thing." He pulled his hand up and shakily reached over to put a hand over Heena's heart. "The people we love never truly disappear. They're always with us in our heart…" His hand lowered shakily, and he took one last breath before his eyes fluttered closed and his breath stopped. It was the first time I'd ever seen a man die and it was hopefully my last.

As a ninja, however, I knew in my heart I'd see many more die before my life was over.


	14. Omakefiller chapter

"Oi, get up!" A pillow to my head awoke me, dazedly I stared around. Temari grinned at me, the pillow in her hand as she tossed it back onto the sleeping Kankuro's head. It muffled the loud snoring that was emitting from him. "Us girls need a lot of time to prepare for the festival?" I tilted my head and gave her a curious look.

"Festival?" I asked curiously.

"Yup." Temari grinned, putting her hands on her hips. "They have one every year. There'll be food, games, and lots of fun. You and I have to get out early to go get kimono's!" She yanked on my hand, pulling me from the hotel room and exiting into the crowd of girls. They were all surrounding a large shop that had many beautiful Kimono's on sale.

"I don't have too much money-" I murmured, taking out the purse, shaped like a cats head so that when I opened it, it looked as if I was reaching inside the cats mouth to get my yen. I didn't have much left, but Temari clucked her tongue and wagged her finger at me.

"I have plenty!" She held up a plain purse that was bursting with yen, I sweatdropped as she laughed happily, saying something about 'the quirks of having the Kazekage as a father' before stepping in line. It moved slower than I thought it would, Temari and I were dying of boredom by the time we had reached the front of the line and it was our town to pick out the Kimono of our choice. Many girls had piled into line behind us and were waiting impatiently.

Temari couldn't seem to find one that fit correctly, due to the fact she was tall, but she went with a green Kimono that had leaves all over it, that stopped an inch above her knees. She took the time to help me figure out which one to choose, although most didn't fit to my embarrassment. It wasn't my waist or stomach or anything that caused the Kimono to have an awkward fit, it was my _chest_. I didn't care what people said, having a large bust was a curse.

Finally, I had found one to my liking that didn't squeeze the daylights out of my breasts, although the only reason it didn't was because it was cut so low. Temari whistled in approval, thanks to her I was going to the Festival looking like a prostitute! Thank goodness the bottom of it hit the ground or I'd die of embarrassment. Maybe I could find something appropriate to wear under it so that my cleavage wouldn't hang out so much.

Temari and I bought our Kimono's and were off into town now, to find anything that would match with our outfits for the night. I had never been too fond of shopping, today certainly wasn't any different, as the crowded shops made me feel claustrophobic.

"Oh, look at this!" Temari reached for a blue hair piece, a clip that had a light blue flower that went well with the blue on my Kimono, and my eyes. However, another girl had happened to reach it first. Their hands landed on it at the same time and their eyes met a flash of lightning shooting through the shops as their eyes met.

"It's _mine._" Temari hissed, pulling the clip towards her.

"I don't _think _so. Your name isn't written on it." The other girl hissed, tugging the clip back towards her. While they were locked in battle, I spotted the exact same hair piece, it being the last one left, and snatched it up before tapping Temari's shoulder.

"I got one, Temari." With a snap, the hair piece the two girls had been clinging onto broke in half. Temari tossed the other half at the girl, laughing as the girl looked at her with unbelieving eyes.

"You're right, it is yours!" Temari ushered me to the front, where we bought the clip. When I voiced my protest at her not buying anything, she stated she'd simply keep her hair down tonight. I sighed as we exited the shop.

"I think that's about it. I have sandals for the two of us to wear, so now it's back to the boys for some R and R!" Temari smiled cheerfully, laughing once more as we passed by the annoyed girl standing with the broken clip. It seemed the shop keeper had made the girl buy it, a large sign in the window read 'You break it, you buy it.'

"Didn't you technically both break it?" I asked with a sigh. Temari shrugged.

"We both broke it, but _she _got caught with it!"

"You're certainly devious…" She smirked at me.

"If you're coming to Suna with us, you better learn to be tough with people. I suppose with Gaara's protection no one will mess with you, but without him around you've gotta learn to fend for yourself. Don't worry, I'll teach you!" I smiled at her; I still couldn't believe the incredible kindness that they were showing me in allowing them to live with them.

I figured it had only been because they were both intimidating and nervous about telling Gaara no, so they were just going along with what he was saying, but Temari seemed to be warming up to the idea quicker than Kankuro was. I didn't really want to think about anything that would frustrate me, only on the fun that I would hope to have tonight.

"We're back!" She cried out loudly, bursting into the room. Neither boy was around, she looked everywhere for them, including under the bed as that was where Kankuro would often hide when scared. She tossed the bags of our stuff onto her bed before collapsing on Gaara's bed beside me. "It'll be even more relaxing without the boys around!"

She grabbed onto the phone beside the bed, dialing a number before pressing the phone to her ear.

"What're you doing?"

"Room service! We're gonna fill up now so that we don't look like pigs in front of the boys later, not that I care what my brothers think but Shika-" She stopped her sentence quickly, a blush forming on her face as she then talked into the phone, ordering a bunch of food for the two of us to eat. My eyes narrowed as I tried to decipher the name she had nearly uttered out. Shika… It sounded so familiar, yet I could quite pinpoint it. I was thrown from my thoughts when Temari hung up the phone.

"That'll be enough for the two of us! You're not a picky eater, I hope!" I shook my head, I had learned at a young age to accept all food as it was, or else my mother would have something to say. Be grateful you even get to eat tonight is what she would say… Temari noticed my distress and immediately tried to change the subject.

"While we're waiting for the food, we should do our nails!" She stood up and walked over to a bag beside her bed and began to rustle through it. I hadn't seen Temari as being this girly, but apparently she had a side that no one saw too often. She pulled out blue nail polish tossing it at me as she found green nail polish for herself.

I wasn't good at painting my nails, when I did my left hand all was well, but as I switched over it turned into a massacre of paint. I stuck out my tongue, biting it as I tried to concentrate hard on getting my nails done. Temari didn't seem to be having as rough a time with me, as she easily cleaned up the sides of her nails if anything went awry; I wish I had that kind of skill.

"Oi, why did you guys order so much food?" Kankuro burst through the door, surprising me and causing the nail polish to go soaring through the air. It splashed across his face and he turned his glare to me.

"It goes well with your eyes?" I offered an apologetic smile before jumping from the bed as Kankuro launched himself at me. It was like a game of tag where if I got caught, I'd probably be strangled. Temari was trying to force Kankuro to stop, however her brother chose to ignore her words and chase me anyway. I gasped as I slipped on stray boxers on the floor, squeezing my eyes shut tight and preparing to hit the ground.

I fell softly onto the sand, sighing in relief as my savior appeared. Gaara appeared in the door way of the room, boredly glancing from me to Kankuro, who had run into a giant wall of sand that stopped him from falling on top of me. Temari had gone back to her nails and was ignoring the scene unfolding; I guess having two brothers made this rather uneventful to her now.

"He's trying to attack me!" I cried out, jumping up and regaining my balance as I hid behind Gaara. Kankuro was about to protest when Gaara took note of the nail polish on his face.

"It looks ridiculous." Gaara commented.

"I- But- She- I can't-" Kankuro smacked his forehead, dragging his hand down his face. I giggled from behind Gaara, earning another glare from Kankuro.

"You know, that nail polish isn't insta-dry stuff, right?" Kankuros mouth formed into the shape of an 'o' as he ran into the bathroom to check out the amazing amount of damage he'd done to his face. Gaara was watching the scene with little interest, choosing to disappear again as Kankuro ran from the room, muttering something about nail polish remover.

"He knows you could just use water, right?" Temari shrugged her shoulders.

"Who cares? They're gone again, let's eat!" The food had been delivered and wheeled into our room. Temari had certainly ordered a lot; my stomach growled happily as it spotted the delicious food before me. Oh, today was turning out to be so entertaining.

Temari and I had taken naps after devouring the food; hardly any crumbs were left behind as the maid came to do a bit of cleaning. The time slowly began to tick downwards, I soon felt Temari shaking me and forcing me to awaken. Gaara and Kankuro were already dressed, a fact that made me blush a bit. Gaara sure looked good in a red kimono… Kankuro's dark purple kimono matched perfectly with his face make-up, of course!

Temari pushed me into the bathroom with her so that we could change together, mostly so she could help me put the stupid thing on. I hadn't ever been forced to wear a kimono before, so it was natural I had no idea what I was doing when I was suddenly forced into one today. She tired the light grey obi around my waist, looking at my cleavage and nodding in approval as she fixed the lining for it.

"There we go! Enough to show cleavage, but not enough to show nipple!"

"Temari!" I cried out in embarrassment, covering my chest. I had turned bright red. She waved her hand uncaringly, tugging down on the kimono so that it didn't show too much leg, just enough to leave the man curious about the full package he'd be getting. It sounded like she had done this more than once, but before I knew it she had me seated on the counter as she put eye shadow over my eyes.

I had never been exposed to this much make up before, it felt awkward as she put it on. I didn't understand why girls had to get all dolled up for some stupid festival, I hated things like this. I didn't want to complain though, so I let Temari doll me up. She brushed my hair and put it into a bun, holding it up with the clip I'd gotten this morning. She nodded in approval as she looked over me and we got to working on her make-up and hair.

It looked rather good down; I didn't notice her hair was slightly past her shoulders, or that it was so straight. She smiled at my admiration, posing once as I gave her a thumbs up. She exited the bathroom first, bravely showing her outfit to her brothers. I heard Kankuro raise protest at how short it was, but Temari quickly shot down the protectiveness by stating she was the oldest and almost legally an adult, and that she could make decisions for herself.

I nervously walked from the bathroom, my face was still obviously light pink. Both boys stopped what they were doing for a second, Gaara's facial expression hadn't changed much, however a light blush was evident across his face, while Kankuro's mouth was open wide in surprise.

"Damn! Who knew you had a body!" Temari tossed a paper fan at Kankuro's forehead.

"Back off, pervert. You're almost an adult, too, and she's practically three years younger than you!" Temari grabbed onto my shoulders and pushed me towards the door. "Let's go!"

The town had been transformed into a beautiful shrine like place; flowers were placed all around, along with colorful banners and bright posters. A large stage was set up where a few amateurs were singing; beside that stood a donation box for Konoha hospital. There were many stands, as Temari had stated, that were for food or games. I smiled, sighing happily as delicious smells tortured my nostrils.

"Oi, Temari!" The people here were hurriedly pushing and of course I managed to get separated from them. Konoha was a big place, they had disappeared within seconds. I squeaked, being pushed along with the crowed before I composed myself and pushed out of the highway of people and into a more relaxed place.

I was set on finding someone I knew before the festival was over, I was sure I wouldn't find Temari for a few more hours so I set off on finding a certain blonde ninja. If my assumption was correct, he wouldn't be too far from the ramen stand that had appeared near the entrance… Ah, I was right!

The blond ninja had deciding on wearing a bright orange kimono, which I didn't find surprising. He was blushing slightly as he talked to the ramen guy, I decided to wait until their conversation was over until I talked to him.

"Hi Kay-chan!" Naruto greeted me warmly, a big smile coming onto his face. I smiled back at him.

"Oi, Naruto, don't tell me you brought two dates!" A playful voice rang from behind him. A girl I'd never seen before sauntered up, hooking an arm with Naruto and leaning against him. I blushed, suddenly feeling intimidated at being in her presence. Her breasts were even larger than mine, they were so pronounced it was the first thing I noticed about her.

She tugged back the long sleeve of her light purple kimono to shake my hand.

"I'm Kim." Her voice remained calm and even, she reminded me of Gaara in a sense. Naruto didn't seem to pay attention; a small line of drool began to drip from the side of his mouth as his eyes peeked at the top of Kim's dress. She didn't seem to mind, instead choosing to ignore him and look at the ramen stand.

"Let's get some ramen, Naruto!" She pulled him away, and thus I was left alone again. I sighed, being surrounded by people wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world. I spotted a lone park bench under some trees, obviously set up for lovers to sit down and speak to each other. I slipped through the crowed with the best of my ability; I kept getting pushed around however so it had taken me a good hour to get to my desired location.

I plopped down onto the stone bench, sniffing the air as I smelt the flowers all around. It really did smell fantastic around here. I would be content with sitting here the whole night. I closed my eyes, smiling as the air blew against my face; for once in a long time I had been able to relax with no disruptions.

"Kaylyn." My eyes opened, meeting the sea foam green ones of Gaara's. He was standing in front of me, watching me curiously. I jumped up, happy to see someone I knew again.

"Gaara-kun!" I cried out. "I'm glad I found you!" Even though technically he'd found me…

A slow song begun to play and I peeked past Gaara to look at the stage, and the dance floor, since I had such a good view of it. A few couples had gotten together, embracing their loves and dates and whispering sweet nothings in their ears. I blushed a bit, realizing I wished I could've been one of those girls with a date, but Gaara didn't seem to be the dancing type.

I smiled as I saw Naruto and Kim, dancing to a song that was obviously meant to have a fast tempo. Kim was bumping into people while Naruto was stepping on her feet; but they were having fun, enjoying each others company. I glanced over at Gaara, motioning for him to join me with sitting on the stone bench. He glanced at the dancers, turning to me with a frown.

"I'm sorry." I blushed a bit, looking down at my lap and fiddling with my fingers.

"Don't worry about it, Gaara-kun. Sitting here with you is just as nice!" He blushed a bit, a small smile appearing on his face as he reached forward and stroked my cheek.

"You're so beautiful…" He murmured, his eyes staring deeply into mine. I felt my face drifting closer to his, he seemed to be thinking about whether or not he should pull away but instead he said nothing. I as beyond nervous but maybe today would be the day I'd get a kiss…

"JUST DO IT ALREADY!" I jumped from shock as I spotted Naruto and Kim watching with an annoyed look.

"Why do you guys have to go so slow! Just kiss the girl already!" Naruto whined. Kim smacked him on the back of the head; he had obviously ruined their spying game. Gaara turned away, slightly annoyed with Naruto's sudden entrance. As Naruto and Kim argued, I turned to admire Gaara again.

He was anything but normal that was for sure. But then again, was my life really normal? Was anything about me normal? I smiled, realizing maybe my life had just been preparing me for this moment. I knew Gaara didn't know much about love, but hopefully I'd be the one to teach him.

Hopefully he was my future. The one I would be with forever.

I could only hope so, right?


	15. Chapter 14

"Heena, we have to go." As much as I hated to pull her away from her family at a time like this, our time was limited. I had to get her back to the Hospital before anyone noticed she had actually disappeared or I would be in trouble, as would she. She looked back at me with teary eyes, turning to her mother and giving her one more hug before climbing on my back again.

"We'll spend the day together, okay mom?" Heena looked at her mother sadly. "When I come back we'll be together." Her mother offered her grieving daughter a warm smile as she kneeled by her husband's side.

"Of course, my dear. I'll be visiting you in the Hospital if I can." She looked down at her husband once more, her mouth turning into a thin line as she studied his face. "Good evening."

Rain had begun to fall and a light wind picked up; Heena and I were soaked in a matter of seconds as we tried to arrive at the Hospital. I hopped up through her window, hoping that it was her room, and placed her back in her bed. Everything seemed to have gone back to normal, so I wished her farewell and disappeared, promising to visit the next morning. I needed some proper sleep, and I figured Heena would rather be alone with her thoughts for the moment.

I sighed as I snuck into the room, the other two were fast asleep and Gaara was nowhere to be found. I wonder what he was doing, since the rain would prevent him from watching the moon tonight. I sighed collapsing onto his bed, snuggling into the soft pillows. The thought of him lying next to him made my blush a bit and scold myself; I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I shouldn't be thinking such…weird things. Like about kissing him, or sleeping next to him, cuddling with him, kissing him… Oh, did I already think that?

I felt dazed; my eyes began to close as more images of Gaara passed before my eyes. What a lovely thing to fall asleep to.

"_She's as good as dead." A voice came from the darkness. "We can beat her, Sayune."_

"_I know." Sayune's face popped up, she was leaning against a tree and staring into the distance. A shadowed man stood in front of her, his face covered and only dark eyes peering from the darkness. She crossed her arms and turned around; she was getting nervous under his dark gaze._

"_We'll be attacking soon." _

"_I know." She replied shortly. "Haru-san, I want to be left alone with my thoughts." _

_She was suddenly slammed against the tree, facing the dark figure again, which had a strong grip on her chin. For once I saw that glimmer of fear in her big, red eyes, she was afraid of this man. She was breathing heavily, her eyes never leaving his. If it had been anyone else, she would've fired a retort and punched them; Sayune what's happening to you?_

"_Don't you tell me you need to be left with your thoughts; I will come and go as I please." He slammed her head back against the tree; Sayune winced in pain as she slid down to the ground. "Remember this. You are useless, without me. She will defeat you without me. You are nothing without me." Sayune bit her lip, squeezing her eyes closed as she looked away. _

"_I get it." She hissed. The man smirked, disappearing into the darkness again. Sayune's hands gripped the cloth of her pants tightly; tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as her expression turned to a pained one._

"_I'm sorry." She whispered… The world began to blend like smoke, withering away until only white was left. I was standing there, looking out at the nothingness of the world; it was then that the feeling I had experienced outside of Tsunade-sama's office started again. The feeling of having happiness ripped away…_

_And then he was there, standing bravely and looking at me with the biggest smile. My father, in all his glory, with not a single scar on him, was wearing a simple white outfit. He stepped forward, his hand softly brushing against my shoulder, I was still frozen from shock. _

"_Dad…" His eyes softened as I whimpered. "I miss you so much…" He said nothing, instead squeezing my shoulder and pulling me close. A simple hug was all it took for him to make me feel wanted and happy; warm and loved. And just like that the moment was fading along with him, I reached out and cried out for him, begging him to come back, I didn't want him to leave me so soon-_

I jumped up from bed with a frustrated cry; I had felt as if I was falling. I looked around to find the room empty, except for a closed bathroom door. I glanced over, Temari's bed had been made so that means she was gone, and Gaara's gourd was lying on the ground near the bed, while Kankuro's puppets were on his. It could've been either of the two boys in the bathroom at the moment. And from the steam coming from underneath the door, I'd say whoever it was, was taking a shower.

I sighed, closing my eyes again and pulling the sheets closer to me. The dream had appeared all too real to me. I tried to settle down and go back to sleep, as I was still extremely tired, but I couldn't find it in me to do so. The door to the bathroom clicked opened and I squeaked, hiding under my blanket but making a small spot open so that I could peer out at whoever it was. And I have the nerve to call Jiraiya a pervert?

Gaara walked from the bathroom, the small bath towel that the hotel offered wrapped around his waist. He was pale, but he had toned body, not anything I'd notice with the clothes he normally wore. It must've taken some strength to carry that gourd around though; I wiped away a line of drool that had begun to slip down the side of my mouth and blushed. Why was I still watching when I knew I shouldn't be? Why hadn't he just taken his clothes into the bathroom? As his towel began to slip off his lower half, I covered my eyes completely, nearly dying from embarrassment. I almost saw his… his… _nether regions._

I could hear him shifting around outside the blanket; please just put clothes on… I don't think I'd ever say that again… I pulled the sheets tighter, trying to the image out of my head, the nicely toned, but not too gross, body, the way the towel began to slip down his side, and he had a pretty cute butt, too… Oh, and the red happy trail that led down to his _nether regions_…

"K-Kill me…" I murmured, attempting to wipe any of the R-rated thoughts that were flowing through my head. Just go back to sleep, I thought to myself, just fall back asleep and… _dream of his wonderful naked body lying next to, pressing against me…_ Stop! I've never had thoughts about any guy like this before, why was I thinking like this now? I was only 14! I shouldn't be thinking about doing such things yet, right? I mean, most girls lose it around 15 or 16 but would Gaara even know how? I was now rambling inside my own head and the thoughts had begun to drive me crazy. Maybe just a peek… No!

"Goddamn it." I groaned, loud enough for Gaara to hear and to stop moving around. I silently cursed at my idiocy, closing my eyes quickly as the blanket was pulled back over my head. I felt his stare and attempted to push back the blush on my face, or else he'd know I was awake.

"Kaylyn…" He murmured my name softly and sent chills down my spine; good God he had me acting like a fangirling school girl. He brushed hair that had fallen in my face away, leaning forward and pressing his lips against my forehead. You'd never understand that amount of will power it took to not blush at that moment; he'd actually shown some affection, I hadn't thought… I couldn't think straight still, as I was still trying to sustain a straight face and not roll off into a fairytale land. "Yashamaru said… that's what you do when you're fond of someone…" Was he talking to himself now? Who was Yashamaru?

I knew I couldn't move or I'd probably scare him off; I guess Gaara enjoys doing things to me while I sleep. Oh, here come the thoughts again, rushing in uninvited, as usual. It did leave me curious however, even as he left my side and went back to getting dressed, or whatever he was doing. Had he done this before to me while I slept? I hadn't been here for more than a few days but that was still time…

I might as well pretend to wake up now… I stirred in my sleep, pushing the blanket from my body and sitting up. I stretched and rubbed my eyes tiredly.

"Good morning, Gaara-kun…" I muttered sleepily, throwing my legs over the side of the bed. He nodded in acknowledgment, without thinking my hand brushed over the place where he'd kissed me. He froze, and that's when I realized what I'd done. Oh no, I was going to blow my cover if I kept this up. I got up from the bed and entered the bathroom, which was still steaming hot.

I let out a tired yawn, really wishing I could've slept, but now that I was up that'd be impossible for me to do. I walked out from the bathroom again and walked to look at the clothes that I'd gotten from my house; there really wasn't much left of them at all, not for the summer months anyway. If I was living in Suna, I'd need to get lighter clothing at least; I wasn't about to put up with scorching temperatures in a full black suit.

I stumbled upon a dress that would have to do for the day; no training or anything planned so I wouldn't have to bring around my kunai pouch or anything. Maybe I could use the rest of my money up on new clothes. It would get awfully lonely shopping alone, though… I glanced back at Gaara, who was sitting on the bed and messing with his gourd.

"Hey, Gaara-kun!" He glanced back at me, quirking an imaginary eyebrow. "You should come shopping with me!" He didn't respond, instead turning around back to his gourd. Well that didn't work out too well, but I wasn't going to be like one of those loser girls! I walked over to sit next to him on the bed and pressed my arm against his.

"Kaylyn…" He murmured, his eyes closing as a light blush spread across his cheeks.

"Please, Gaara-kun, I don't want to go all alone…" Was he just like any other guy that went for begging? I would hope so, although I knew he wasn't the same as most guys, let alone most people. Once someone had been revealed to so much pain in their life it changed them in more than one way. It was especially difficult having a crush on someone who didn't understand the subtle hints I sent him…

"Fine." He finally stated, pulling away from and standing up. "Let's go." He put the gourd back on his back, I guess he wanted to be prepared for anything, and left with me. I was still semi-surprised at what I had managed to convince him to do; he was going shopping with me. I was exposing Gaara to all the aspects of a relationship, before the actual relationship was formed. I couldn't say I minded though.

The feeling I got around him was different; I'd never been this giddy or happy around a boy before. Just seeing him made me smile. My heart would always flutter around in my chest when he was close; my stomach was always full of butterflies when I caught him staring at me. Maybe it was just stupid of me to think this, but in all honesty, I think I'm different than most people that he'd interacted with. Maybe it just made me some stupid little girl believing a supposed demon could possibly love me, but I was a sucker for fairy tales and I wasn't ready to give in yet.

But while I was waiting for this lovely fairytale to play out, I'd enjoy the little things that came along with the little feelings. I hadn't ever felt them before; it was a nice break from the normal disappointment and sadness I had felt every other day.

"Oh~" I hummed happily; I had never felt so girly before in my life. I was actually enjoying clothes shopping, for once in my life! Maybe it was because I had someone I actually liked who wouldn't say anything about what I decided to wear; unlike my mother, who decided she had to comment on every single detail before purchasing clothes.

"This color or this color?" I held up two shirts, comparing them to see which I liked better. This is why I hated shopping so much; I hated the time it took up, which could be used on much more interesting things. I sighed, choosing the blue shirt simply because I _can _and placing it on the counter, along with a variety of under armor, and a few pairs of leggings.

I swung the bag back and forth impatiently as we walked down the street; I was ready to visit Heena now, but I wanted to get her something. Anything would be nice, just to cheer her up a bit. I hope that didn't make me seem shallow, giving her a gift after her father died and all, but I think it'd cheer her up a bit, you know? If someone had gotten me a nice necklace or somethin' after my father died, I would've felt less alone in the world. I would've felt like someone had actually cared for me…

I wiped the thought from my head as I came upon a store window that had a white sundress in the window; I knew what I wanted to buy for Heena. The lace on the bottom was a bunch of roses sewn together by a vine. It reminded me of the innocence that was Heena; the pure whiteness, the flowers, it was all like Heena. Delicate.

"Wait here, hold this-" I shoved the bag in Gaara's hand, leaving him confused as I slipped into the shop.

"Can I have that dress?" The old man behind the counter looked at me with a smile.

"The one in the window, my dear?"

"Y-Yes the white one."

"Of course." He moved to retrieve the dress for me, folding it and gently placing it into a bag. "Is that all?"

"Y-yes." I smiled, taking the bag from him and handing him the yen. It was pretty cheap for such a beautiful dress.

"Do come again! You'll look rather beautiful in that dress miss, your boyfriend will love it, I can tell." I blushed a bit, glancing out the window where Gaara was standing and waiting for me. The old man must've seen me give the shopping bag to him, and from that he assumed that… That we were… together…

"I- I mean, we're not together so…" He just smiled knowingly at me; beyond embarrassed, I slunk off from the store and rejoined Gaara outside. He shot me a curious look.

"…Why are you red?"

"N-no reason." My blush deepened as I reached to take the bag back from him.

"I'll carry it." He pulled the bag slightly out of my reach and started to walk towards the Hospital again. I watched after him, a bit surprised, before jogging to catch up with him.

"S-Sensei, you didn't have to get me such a wonderful gift!" Heena gazed at the dress with stars in her eyes; I knew that she'd love it.

"I'm glad you like it, Heena." She smiled at me.

"Of course I do! This is… you're too kind." She pulled the dress close to her. "Thank you so much!"

"It was no problem!" It really wasn't, just to see her smiling made me happy. At least I knew she must feel appreciated; I found myself treating Heena like I wanted to be treated. I wanted someone to be there to talk to me, to encourage me; I didn't want to rob someone else of the feeling.

"My mom came to visit me this morning." Heena smiled. "She said the nurses said that I'd be getting out soon! Tsunade-sama is really amazing with her healing techniques." I smiled and nodded, continuing to listen to her talk about her mother's visit. At least she wasn't crying endlessly like I had; at least she was being strong.

"Excuse me…" Sakura entered the room with a clipboard in her hands, smiling at me as she passed by me to get to Heena. "Heena-san, we have to run a few more tests on you, please follow me. Kay-chan, I'm sorry, but it'll take a few hours and I don't think you'd want to stay here waiting for her…" I shook my head.

"It's alright, Sakura-chan. I understand. I'll see you tomorrow, Heena." I gave the girl a pat on the shoulder, hugging her softly before leaving with Gaara.

"I'm going to take a walk through the forest." Gaara nodded at me, still holding the bag from earlier. "I'll take it-"

"I'll take it." He smirked. "Be careful."

"It's just a little walk." I stuck on my tongue, although I had a bad feeling too. A deep seated worry, about what, I wasn't sure. I also knew that taking a walk by myself wasn't the smartest thing I'd ever done, but when a girl had been through so much in such a short amount of time, they don't think much. I guess that was my downfall.

The forest was tranquil; it helped clear the throbbing headache I had. I froze in my spot, turning to peer behind me. It had just sounded as if I heard footsteps, I was being watched. I blew it off, another mistake that I hadn't realized, figuring it was just Gaara being protective. As I led myself deeper into the forest, however, the lovely walk turned into one of horror.

I froze in my spot as the forest fell perfectly silent, no chirping birds, no animals moving through the bushes, just silence. I bit my lip, unable to push of the incredible amount of nervousness I felt; I gasped at the sudden flash of movement that happened before my eyes. I was pushed hard into a tree, I felt the rough tree bark scrape against my skin and winced.

What's going on? I thought to myself, looking around for my attacker, but seeing no one. In the next instant, I was pressed against the tree again, a kunai held close to my throat. My blue eyes met a flash of red ones; there's a smirk, a feminine laugh…

Sayune hummed, a smirk coming upon her face. I had never seen such a fire in her eyes; I hadn't realized that Sayune had begun to loathe me. That's all I saw now, the hatred burning within her eyes as she held a kunai to my throat. And it hurt. It hurt more than words could describe, because she was my best friend. She was one of the most important people in my life, I had never felt so _betrayed _before…

"I'm back." She grinned widely, a bit manically as she pressed the kunai closer to my throat. "And guess what 'Best friend', I'm not leaving without a fight this time."


	16. Chapter 15

"Sayune…" I murmured softly. Her hatred, it was smothering me, why could I actually feel the power of her loathing taking over me?

"Don't talk, I want to make this quick." She retracted the kunai from my throat and I sighed, albeit too soon. She grabbed the front part of my shirt and threw me hard at the ground. I hadn't been prepared for that and felt my back slam hard against the ground before I rolled onto my side. I winced, feeling the pain in my ribs as I held them and stood up to face her.

She was watching me now, her eyes unforgiving. To have your best friend suddenly hate you… When had this become this bad? Why hadn't I noticed?

"You are nothing!" She shouted loudly, tossing a kunai at me; I had finally got my head in the game and caught it before it hit me. "I am stronger than you will ever be." She laughed forward, another kunai bared and I hardly managed to dodge; she recovered with a swift kick to my leg, which sent me flying back.

"Why are you doing!" The clinking of metal was audible as her kunai met with mine, our eyes met and her hatred smothered my worried glance. She pushed hard; I was using all the strength I had to keep her at bay. When she looked at me like that, with such annoyance and anger, it had reminded me of when I'd first laid eyes on her…

"_Wow, father, look at the fireworks!" That night had been a lovely festival; the sky was filling with all colors of light. My father had been carrying me on his shoulders, as he often did when we were out in public together. He stated it was because he never wanted me to miss anything interesting, but I believe it was just to ward off any women who would approach him and flirt with him._

"_Move it!" Her voice had been so much shriller; it wasn't hard to hear it over the crowd. My eyes shifted over to a stand, where a small blonde girl had a few pieces of fruit in her hand. Two ninja stood on either side of her, holding her tightly in their grip as she struggled to get away._

"_Get offa me pea-brains!" She snapped. "My family could have you jailed for even touchin' me! So get off!" The guards shared a glance and complied with the young girl, releasing her. She flew forward unexpectedly, landing face first in the dirt. A chorus of laughter and teases started up, from other children and adults who were looking at her with disdain._

_Her brilliant red eyes teared up as she pushed through the crowd, since she had been too busy attempting to wipe away her tears, she'd ran right into my father._

"_W-Watch where you're goin'!" She yelled at him, looking up at him with a teary scowl._

"_I like your eyes." Her eyes widened and she looked up at me. "They're really scary, but they're really cool, too. I wish my eyes were like that." My father chuckled softly but Sayune glared at me._

"_What're you stupid! Who would want to have red eyes, but then again yours aren't normal either. No one's eyes are THAT blue, what did you do, get surgery or somethin'?" I gasped innocently._

"_N-No, these are my natural eyes, I think, right daddy?" He nodded his head._

"_Che, I'm glad for you then! Bye, freak." She then disappeared into the crowd and I watched her leave; I felt pity for such an angry little child, even though I myself was still young._

"_I'm a freak, daddy?" I whispered in his ear as he continued to walk along._

"_You're special, Kaylyn, you are no freak. Your eyes are unique."_

"_Her eyes were unique, too!" I rested my head on my fathers, my tiny arms wrapping around his forehead, being careful to not cover his eyes. "I don't get why she got so mad, I don't think I said anything mean, did I?"_

"_She's just upset; don't fret, look, cotton candy!" My eyes glowed as I looked at the sweet treated, forgetting all about that angry little girl._

She had been so angry then, she had been angry when I met her, but when we were together, after we'd become friends, she had become so much friendly. It's like finding a diamond in a pile of coal; she was a good person underneath the tough exterior she put out. You just had to understand her, the way she was. She was sensitive to everything around her, due to her odd eye color and her families fall to shame.

I had always known there was something I liked about her, I conformed to rules and kept quiet; she had been caught stealing and she didn't act ashamed, she knew what she was doing and spoke her mind. She made me feel as if I still had some hope, that maybe one day I could be a little like her, sticking up for myself and maybe others.

But as I looked at her now I realized I wasn't staring at the same little girl who knew about her actions, and I pitied her. She had become so blinded that she hadn't realized what she was doing anymore, she wasn't herself anymore and she couldn't fathom why. But I understood her.

"You're not really fighting me, are you Sayune?" I gave her the best smile I could and she sneered. "You're fighting yourself, because… because I'm just like how you used to be…" She growled, her fist swiftly missing my face. I couldn't hurt her; I knew I couldn't at this moment.

"You and I are nothing alike…" Sadness flashed across her eyes. "I wish I could be like you! But I can't. So all I can do is get rid of you, I'll get rid of my past and start a new future, with Haru-san!"

"Sayune…" Her fists were clenched and tears were gathering in the corners of her eyes; was she angry at me, or herself? "I'm sorry." She gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at me in disbelief. I wasn't entirely sure why I had apologized myself, but it felt like the thing that had to be said. If she wished to kill me, I wanted to let her know that everything I'd done to her, I was sorry for.

"SHUT UP!" She shouted suddenly, tossing a kunai and smirking as it grazed my face. "You don't know ANYTHING, damn it! Stop. Stop doing this to me!" I felt blood trickle down my cheek but I ignored it, standing up and taking a few steps towards her. My ribs were still aching but I wasn't focused on my pain, I was focused on hers.

"_I'm Sayune!"_

"_I'm Miyuki!"_

"_I'm Kaylyn!"_

_We were all teammates now; I immediately recognized Sayune, her odd eyes were what made her so easily recognizable. She scowled at my staring and huffed, crossing her arms and turning away._

"_What the hell are you looking at?" She shouted._

"_Your eyes." I smiled at her. "They're unique like mine." Miyuki giggled as her sister suddenly looked embarrassed._

"_You mean they're weird." I shook my head._

"_No. Unique." I smiled as she looked at me surprised, before returning a small smile. It was the start of a friendship._

"If you're so set on killing me, I can understand. I left you behind, when we had promised to be together forever. Don't you remember what you said to me?" Her frown returned.

_The day was a cold one; it was exactly a year after my father had died. I had gone to visit his grave and I found the pain unbearable. All I knew was that I was running, running from him, running from reality, or running from the pain, I wasn't sure. I ended up in the forest outside the training grounds before I finally stopped and let myself cry in peace; I remember falling to the ground and sobbing into my hands… I had been so distraught I hadn't noticed I was being watched._

_Sayune had followed me, she knew the forests like the back of her hand and wasn't a stranger to the danger of the forest outside of our home._

"_Come on, Kaylyn! Get yourself together!" I looked up at her with big eyes, sniffling. "Come on!" She squeezed my cheeks so hard they hurt; I pushed her away and turned around, embarrassed. "I'm here for you now, okay? I promise I'll always be here for you, not even death will part us! So no more tears, okay?"_

"Thank you." I whispered. "You saved me from becoming a brooding teenager without a father; you gave me a reason to live for, to hope and dream again…"

"I'm here, trying to kill you, and you thank me! What the hell is wrong with you! You're such an idiot." She punched me, her blow being stronger enough to send me sprawling to the ground. I laid there for a second before rising again, only to be met by her foot in my stomach.

"It's okay…"

"No, it's NOT okay!" She screamed. "It's not okay, it has never been okay, and how dare you think that! After you left my world feel apart, you were my best friend. You were the only one I had to rely on, the one I could lean on no matter what, and then you disappeared. You left me, and I was all alone again. That feeling drove me crazy; you can't even begin to understand what you put me through, Kaylyn." The tears gathering at the corner of her eyes echoed a different emotion, the pain she had felt… I understood what it was like to be surrounded by people, yet still able to feel so alone.

"Your eyes aren't as beautiful when they're not smiling; they're becoming haunted." She glared at me.

"Fight me."

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"I won't hurt you as long as… I know you're my friend." She grabbed onto the collar of my outfit and pulled me close to her.

"You're an idiot." She hissed, but her eyes changed. They were betraying her as they looked me over; they were showing an emotion that she didn't want to feel. "How… How could you leave me?" A tear streaked down her cheek. "Not only had my parents gotten a divorce, but you left! I had no one to believe in anymore, Miyuki was no help, you weren't there, and my parents were too sucked up in hating each other to care about me… What was I to do? I bottled up my emotions; of course, I wouldn't let any see how it hurt me."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Sayune's parents had been on the rocks since there had been rumors spreading all those years ago about her father's infidelity. It looks like it had proved to be true, Sayune had already been shaky on relationships, and I guess her parents' divorce had finally set her over the edge.

"Why does it matter?" She asked weakly; her eyes looked worn and tired. "I can't smile and play along anymore, everything Haru has been putting me through is just…"

"Sayune, you can always come back." She looked at me in shock; the thought hadn't ever crossed her mind.

"I-I can?"

"Whoever this guy is, he doesn't need to have a hold on you. You can come back to the village now, and I promise I won't be selfish this time. Just please, come back." I extended my hand, noting the extreme conflict in her eyes.

"I can't. He'll kill me, and he'll kill you. Kaylyn…" Sayune slapped my hand away and backed up. "He told me I had to kill you; I have to kill my past to be able to move on-"

"You know that's not true." My ribs ached painfully, the cut on my face stung quite a bit, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling in my heart. To see such a confused person standing before me, unaware of what she wants or her own emotions, especially when I knew her… Or I thought I had.

"When I first saw you with her, I wanted to kill the both of you…" She whispered, her gaze softening. "I was so overcome by jealousy I hadn't realized that it was just your nature; you nurture injured hearts. And I question how you became like that, how did you get to be a good person? When all through your life, you've been faced and thrown nothing but pain, yet you focus on others more than yourself…"

"Sayune?"

"Why do bad things happen to the people who don't deserve it? How is that in anyway fair? I decided I wasn't going to wait around to see what was going to happen to me, if such bad things happened to you, even worse things would come to me in the future, and I understand now…" Her grip on her kunai tightened. "I wanted to become more powerful, and that's when Haru found me."

"He knew I wanted power, he knew I was scared, and tired of thinking, so he decided he was going to think for me. He did all the thinking, all the planning, and I did as he told. I did anything he told me to, simply because it was exhilarating. The missions Haru gave me… Well, to put it simply, I'm considered a criminal by our Village. I think the Hokage had a suspicion about me, she's been trying to get in contact with the Waterfall leader for awhile."

And I hadn't even noticed before hand of how much she changed; I didn't realize the changes and pain she was going through. I wasn't there for her, when she had been there for me. I hadn't been there when she needed me most; she was another person I had disappointed.

"I'm so sorry." I whimpered, partially from the guilt that was taking over my being, the other being the pain in my ribs increasing tenfold as I tried to stand up straight. "I wasn't there, this is my fault-"

"Stop it! Don't you realize you get nowhere by being kind and nice? You have to be mean, you have to be tough. You can't let anyone in or they'll ruin you!"

"It's not true, Sayune. You can't survive without at least someone that'll share your troubles; that can help, that'll listen to you. You can't bear the weight of the world on your shoulders all alone, and that's why… that's why I help people. When I see someone hurting like I had, I know exactly what they're going through. I know how alone they are, and I know that no one should ever have to feel that pain."

"But you did, and you had no one-"

"I had you, didn't I?"

She'd train with me every day, regardless of whether or not she was sick or had better things to do. She'd shop with me when I couldn't stand my mother's opinions anymore; she'd listen to my problems and my opinions. She encouraged me to speak for myself and to not silence myself simply because I was worried someone wouldn't agree. She may not have shared my pain but she saw what I was going through, she understood. And better yet, she actually listened.

She had been the single person that had understood everything, every worry, every dream, every fear, everything. She had been my rock, the person who would keep me grounded. And seeing her like this now was a sin, for I saw her as a good person.

"I thought I had everything figured out." The kunai dropped from her hands and her arms were limp at her side. "By the time I turned 9, I knew I'd be judged, for my eyes, by what my family did, people would judge me before they even knew me. And that's why I figured I was better off alone. But you came along, you came along and you ruined that plan. You made me have an inkling of hope that the people in the world would change…"

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, a failed attempt at stopping the tears flowing down her cheeks. I felt a bit of hope, was I bringing her back down to reality? Would I be able to take her back to the village, explain things to Tsunade and have her changed?

"Sayune, you seem to have forgotten your objective." A deep voice sounded from behind her; Sayune froze and opened her eyes, slowing turning around.

"Haru-san…"

The shadowed man stepped out and stood by Sayune's side.

His skin resembled that of a corpse, grey and decaying, while his eyes resembled voids of darkness of which there was no return. His mouth was shaped into a dark grin. He rested one large hand on Sayune's shoulders; I saw fear flash through her eyes but she regained her composure.

"We're being joined." His voice was deep; it sent chills down my spine. He raised his arms, a purple colored force field raising around us and stopping directly behind me. I turned, touching the force field and pulling back, wincing in pain. It had shocked me. Haru pushed Sayune forward; she stumbled before regaining her ground and staring at me.

"You're going to die by my hands." I wanted to die at that moment more than anything, as I felt as if I was going through life alone again. Without Sayune there, I had no one. No one to depend on, no one to protect me when I needed to be, no one to care about me when I needed them most…

"Kay-chan!" Naruto's voice. Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, and Tsunade came running up the path, being forced to stop at the force field. Tsunade immediately slammed her fist against it, being forcibly pushed backwards as electricity threw her off. Naruto looked at me worriedly. Naruto… I thought, a small smile coming onto my face. This was something I'd have to do alone. Was I walking into my own death? Possibly. But would it be worth it, just to see Sayune come to her senses?

I felt so much stronger now, knowing that three new friends I had made already had my back; they were watching over me. Now it was time to focus on Sayune, who was beginning to get agitated with my attention not being on her.

"I'm your opponent, fool!" She snapped, snatching sword from her side and raising it high. I didn't move, instead I stared up at her. My whole life was flashing before my eyes, the first time my father had watched the moon with me, his funeral, Sayune's promise… Why did things have to change? I closed my eyes, not choosing to block. If I wasn't good enough to bring Sayune to her senses, I didn't deserve to live. Maybe it sounded a bit stupid, I had to agree I wasn't thinking straight, but it was too late.

The blade hit the ground next to me, lodging into the dirt. I opened my eyes to face a crying Sayune; her face had turned into one reflecting anguish. She couldn't kill me… She still cared for me, even though her words said differently.

"Enough of this. I'll finish her myself." Haru growled, pulling a spear from the large black jacket he wore. He threw it, and the next few moments happened in slow mo. The arrow hit its target, blood splattered through the air and I let out a scream of pain. But the spear hadn't hit me.

Sayune gasped, looking down slowly and gripping at the spear that had gone clean through her stomach. She gasped, blood dripping down the corners of her mouth as she let out a gasp of pain. She clutched at her stomach where the arrow had gotten her, using the last of her strength to pull the spear from her body before she collapsed onto me. I caught her body before it hit the ground, cradling her in my arms as Haru let out a loud laugh.

"I missed. My aim must be rusty." His eyes darted over to me before he smiled again. "We'll be meeting again Uzimo." Pure hatred ran through my veins as I felt Sayune choke on her own blood; he had done this purposely. He had meant to kill Sayune all along. As he disappeared in the shadows, my rage turned to sorrow as I looked down at Sayune.

She tilted her head up so she could look at me; the light was already beginning to fade from her eyes. The spear must've punctured a lung and caused immense internal bleeding. No medical Ninjutsu I knew could possibly save her. She was now lying in my arms, slowly dying.

"I was so jealous." She choked out, tears forming once more in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for ever becoming involved in any of this. Haru has steered so many people wrong and yet my anger and the betrayal I felt had blinded me… I understand if you hate me, but please…"

"Don't talk, Sayune. You're losing too much blood…" My hand pressed against the prominent wound on her stomach and I began to heal her; the force field around us slowly began to fade, allowing the others to surround us. Sayune didn't look at any of them; her focus remained on me. I knew healing would do no good; deep in my heart I knew Sayune was beginning to take her final breaths of life. There was nothing anyone could do for her anymore, and I believe that everyone saw that. Everyone knew, Tsunade didn't bother tearing her from my arms.

"I love you, you know." Sayune smiled distractedly, her eyes facing the sky that had a pinkish hue to it this time of day. "You made me happy. You made me feel like someone… special. And I know I can die peacefully knowing that… that I meant something to… someone…" Her speech began to slur and it became harder for her to focus; I willed back my tears. She looked back at me, and that's when I saw it. The regret shimmering in her eyes.

"Please don't go…" I whimpered, my lower lip quivering. Ninjas were never supposed to show emotion, but this was as far as I could go without showing emotion. Tears slipped down my cheek and onto Sayune, who raised a hand and softly brush them away. "You can't die!"

"Be brave, Kay-chan... Miyuki needs you. Please. My dying wish…"

"Don't talk like that!" I cried out. Don't die, don't die, oh God, please let this be a dream. Let this be some horrible dream and I'll wake up in my bed, my father waking me up for school again. But it wasn't a dream. It was reality. "You won't die…"

"And I thought I was the stubborn… one…" She choked again, her body beginning to shake; I pulled her closer to me. "P-p-promise to p-protect Miyuki. Promise me." Tears had begun to freely fall down my cheeks as I stared into Sayune's eyes for the last time.

"I promise." I whispered. She gave me one last grin, that grin that she showed when we had first met, when we had gotten home from our first successful mission, when she had made me that promise… Her eyes slowly closed, her breathing stopped and she now lay limp in my arms.

Sayune had died.


	17. Chapter 16

I wasn't a complete wreck like someone would be after their closest friend dies; I wasn't making a scene or expecting the pity I got. I was quiet and spent nights alone. Naruto had attempted to push off his trip even longer, but I told him not to bother. I don't think I had been too kind to him with my goodbyes, but I seemed to be shutting out my emotions completely.

I hadn't seen Gaara in days, I hadn't talked to him, or anyone for that matter, and I slept alone in the forest. No one came after me. No one bothered telling me everything was going to be okay because I knew it wasn't; I knew right now nothing was okay. I couldn't bring myself to cry though; I don't think that her death had sunk in. Even as they shipped her body back home.

What was I doing with my life now? I didn't have the drive to do anything. Any hopes and dreams seem so far away; Sayune didn't get to live to achieve her goals, what made me special? The lost opportunities that she had… She had lost everything just because of one misjudgment. She was right; everything bad happened to the wrong people. What had I done so bad that I deserved to lose a father and a close friend?

Even though the pain was so evident, in everything I did, everything I thought about, it was all about the fact that she would never achieve what she wanted. She wanted to be a mother, married to a warrior husband, and she wanted to be the head of the Waterfall Village. She had things she hasn't lived through yet, like her 16th birthday.

When that realization hit me was when everything went downhill. I sobbed into my hands, slipping down a wall in an alleyway and letting my emotions rest on my sleeves. I sobbed harder than I had cried for my father; I believed the only reason I had was because it was for someone who had died so young. A true tragedy, a horrible occurrence, the more I thought of it that harder it began to hit.

And then I did the only thing I knew that would help to cope with the pain. I trained every single day for a straight week, early morning until late at night. I didn't give myself time to think about what was happening, I tired myself out until I dropped from exhaustion, and before I thought about it in the morning, I got straight back to work. This was no way to live, and I knew I'd have to stop and let reality in, but I kept that thought in the back of my head.

"I'm sorry Sayune…" I whispered before collapsing to the ground. "So sorry…

The faint beeping of machines woke me up; my body felt weaker than normal, I couldn't feel my limbs for one. I winced as I tried to push myself up, my back ached horribly and I realized it wasn't a good idea. The room was dark but I could make out Heena's figure beside my bed, her head was lying close to my hand. Heena… Though my hand was shaky I managed to touch the top of Heena's head softly.

She only groaned softly and snuggled deeper into the blankets. I was obviously in the Hospital, but why? The last thing I remember doing before passing out yesterday was training…

"You're awake!" I jumped at the loud voice, a shock of pain going through my body. I groaned and fell back on the bed in pain. The loudness of that voice could only mean it was Naruto. And just as I suspected, the blonde haired ninja dived to my side, his face inches from mine as he looked at me. "I thought you were never gonna get up!"

"Well I am…" My throat was dry and my voice was hoarse; it hurt to speak. It hurt to move, too. It was like being a vegetable; I wouldn't be able to move around for days.

"Kaylyn." A chill shot down my spine as my eyes drifted towards Gaara, who was standing directly in front of my bed. I felt relieved to see him in a way, it had been too long. I found comfort in knowing he wasn't completely angry with me for ignoring him; Naruto, too, for that matter. I glanced between both boys, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

How stupid could I be? How selfish was I to actually believe I had been alone? When all this time two people who cared about me were standing in front of me? When one girl who placed her trust in me had fallen asleep waiting for me to wake up? I wasn't as alone as I had felt; Sayune had left me in good hands.

All I could do was smile as tears began to fall; Naruto quickly assumed that it was his fault.

"D-Don't cry!" He stuttered, waving his hands defensively in front of himself. "Come on, Kay-chan, get it together!" Oh he certainly had a way with words. I laughed, rubbing my eyes as I tried to wipe away the tears.

"I just realized what a fool I was being. I thought I was all alone after Sayune had died, because I shared a bond with her that I hadn't shared with anyone since my father…" I sniffled and rubbed my eyes again. "But now I realize I have you guys, and suddenly I don't feel so alone. I'm glad you guys are here…" Naruto grinned widely, while Gaara's expression hadn't changed. I hadn't expected it to, but I knew my words meant something to him.

"Believe it!" Naruto grinned proudly. I felt a bit cheered up due to Naruto's attitude; had I mentioned how I admired how cheery he was? I wish Gaara was by my side though; I was craving another one of those stiff, odd hugs he gave. They were comforting to me, at least.

"Could you get Tsunade, Naruto-kun? I want to speak with her." Naruto gave me a bewildered look.

"Why do you need Granny Tsunade?"

"Please, Naruto-kun." I whipped up the sweetest smile I could; Naruto blushed and stuttered 'alright' before leave the room. I was going to miss him when I was gone; I wouldn't even get to see him come back home, I'd be living in the Sand Village. Gaara moved so that he was standing where Naruto had, looking down at me.

"Gaara-kun…"

"What were you thinking?" He growled. Well that wasn't the first emotion I'd like to feel coming from him after not seeing him for so long, but I deserved it. I hadn't been thinking of anyone but myself, but damn it, I thought I deserved it. It looks like I couldn't manage to take care of my problems on my own, how pathetic.

"I wasn't." I replied aloofly, although I was worried about how mad I had made him. I looked up at him and attempted a weak smile, but his glare immediately scared that away.

"You… You could have died."

"I know…" I couldn't tell whether he was talking about my fight with Sayune or my fight with myself. I felt his hand softly brush against my face; I wish I could move to grab his hand. I wish I could offer him something that wouldn't make him so mad at me, but I couldn't think of anything. There wasn't anything I could really say to him.

"…Look at me." I winced at his tone of voice but listened anyway; his seafoam colored eyes met mine. For a moment the sparks that had flown between us when we had first met started up again. I felt that same feeling, that happy fluttering feeling in my heart as he looked into my eyes. Gaara had suddenly meant so much to me, and it had only been a matter of months. He needs support as much as I did; we really weren't that different.

"I don't want you to go." I managed to sputter out. His eyes widened slightly. "Please. When you're here I think I can keep it together because I know you've gone through the pain of loneliness like I have. So please don't leave." He retracted his hand from my face and remained watching me carefully. He didn't believe me, but I didn't stop.

I struggled to move my arm, the fatigue had hit me harder than I first realized. But I didn't stop; I made sure my arm moved… It gave out just as I reached his arm, and dropped like a weight. I cursed mentally before trying again, this time grabbing his hand even if my hands were shaking while doing so. As I suspected, he stiffened at my touch, eyeing my hand curiously.

"I'm not just messing with your feelings. Maybe the reason I care about you so much is because what Sayune said was right. I heal injured hearts and I see how lonely you are; I want to help you. I don't want you to feel that pain every day." My grip on his hand was shaking now. "Just like I need you now. I still have that drawing we made together… I'll show it… to you…" My arm dropped and the world around me turned dark again as I passed out.

"Shut it, Naruto!" Sakura's annoyed voice rang through my ears as I regained consciousness; it must've been late morning, with how bright the sun is. My eyes fluttered open; Sakura and Naruto stood in front of my bed, Sakura glaring at a sweating blonde ninja. Heena was awake, leaning against the wall; she was the first to notice I had woken up.

"Sempai!" She cried out softly, running to my side and grabbing my hand. "You're awake!" This attracted Naruto and Sakura's attention onto me; Sakura gave me a warm smile while Naruto showed me his goofy grin. I smiled back weakly, but I had used up all my energy lifting my arm earlier. Speaking of that, where had Gaara gone? I glanced around the room quickly, noting he was nowhere to be found. I frowned a bit, so much for him listening when I stated my feelings to him. I guess it should've been expected…

"Gaara just left, Temari and Kankuro needed him. They're speaking to granny Tsunade about something." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "He didn't leave for awhile though." Sakura nodded.

"He's been here since you were admitted." Sakura walked so that she was standing on the opposite side of Heena, delicately placing a hand on my forehead. "Your fever has gone down a lot. Can you feel anything in your body?"

"Hardly." Even if I mustered up all my willpower I could hardly move a pinky.

"You just need more rest. You should be fine after a few days, than we can talk about releasing you." But Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were leaving for home soon! I had to travel with them; I didn't want to be stuck here with the memories… Not while I was still like this.

"They already took it up Tsunade-sama, so you don't have anything to worry about." Sakura began fiddling with the beeping machine by my side. "You have nothing to worry about; Gaara certainly didn't want to leave you behind..." A weak smile was all I could muster before my consciousness left me again.

"_Wake up." A voice whispered softly. I felt the wind blow my hair from my face, I sputtered a bit in surprise before abruptly sitting up. It was the same white world I had last seen my father in; the one from my dreams. I quickly glanced around, noting that there was nothing but white for miles to see. "Over here, silly." _

_I whipped my head around only to be met with a blonde mop of hair, before promptly being knocked over. I sputtered out unhappily, not quite sure who had exactly attacked me until I connected the voice with the hair._

"_Sayune." She pulled away from the bone crushing hug she had encased me in, before smacking her forehead._

"_Darn it, I got it wrong! I'm supposed to be angry with you, young lady! You pulled the stupidest move in the world, honestly! You even landed yourself in the hospital." I hadn't paid attention to a word she said, as seeing her was the only thing on my mind. She had no wounds from the battle; her stomach didn't even have a scar on it. She looked perfect in death. _

"_Sayune…" She smacked my head; I winced, rubbing it before glaring at her._

"_What was that for?"_

"_You know damn well what it was for! Your stupidity." I was silent again, just staring at the outing form of my former friend. "People die every day, Kaylyn."_

"_But they're not you, Sayune." My eyes began to tear up again but I couldn't cry over her again; in death I knew she would no longer feel pain. She would no longer be ashamed of her differences from normal people. In death everyone reached an acceptance of each other. _

"_She's correct." My father, in all his ninja glory, was suddenly kneeling beside me. "You can't stop living just because she has." Sayune nodded sadly. _

"_Of course I'm right. But the point is you have so many things to look forward to in life. So don't stop living on my account; how about you and me make another promise?" _

"_W-what would that be?" She held at her pinky, wiggling it as she expected me to do the same. _

"_You're going to live for me, okay? You're not going to mope around and cry for me; I didn't even cry for me. I cried for you, because I knew you'd take it to heart and I didn't want you to. None of this is your fault." But it was. Didn't she realize if I had just stayed she would've been okay? If I was less selfish-_

"_You're not a selfish person." My father's hand softly brushed the back of my head. "You're a selfless young girl who's lived through much pain. And I'm more proud of you than I have ever been." And that meant so much to me, because my dad was my hero. He had been the most important person in my life and I had trained so hard to impress him. I had studied so much so that I could catch up to him in life. I wanted him to be proud of me. Hearing those words come from his mouth now…_

"_Thank you." I began to sob, burying my face in my hands. I couldn't thank him enough; that statement had made all this torture worthwhile. My dad was proud of me, and if he was proud of me than I could be happy. I knew I was doing well if he was proud. My heart felt as if it could burst. "Thank you so much daddy."_

_He smiled softly, standing up and slowly backing away, Sayune following the same motions as him. As they were fading they began to wave, as if it had all just been a dream and they'd both see me sometime soon. _

"_Be strong, Kaylyn."_

_"I'm so proud that you're my daughter, Kaylyn." _

To wake up from such a wonderful dream, it was heartbreaking. For some reason though, it felt more real than anything had in awhile. I knew now though, I knew he was proud of me. I knew that both of them were with me, watching over me. I had to make them both proud now; I had to show that I wouldn't let them down. My promise to Sayune would not be broken; I would live my life, even if she could no longer live hers.

The room was empty now, except for a medic ninja who had just finished changing the sheets to my bed. He greeted me with a smile before continuing his work, walking around and tidying up the room before exiting again. My fingers twitched a bit before I managed to raise my arm without shaking. I attempted to move my leg around, but the feeling in it was dull. Walking would have to wait for now.

I was getting stronger as the days passed by. I knew what I wanted from life now; I knew what I had to do. I wouldn't waste my time on revenge for now; there were others that I needed to worry about. Miyuki was one of them.

Life wasn't going to be easy from this point on, but now, I was up to the challenge.


	18. Chapter 17

I stood in front of my house, my eyes peering up at it nervously. The three Sand ninja stood behind me, watching me expectantly as I took a few steps toward the house. Gaara followed me while the other two offered to keep watch outside. It had been nearly a week after I'd gotten out of the Hospital and I was already leaving this temporary home. It was sad in a way, for I'd miss many of the people here, Heena the most. She was just going to have to train on her own and write to me every once in awhile...

"What if she's in there?" I muttered as my hand lingered on the doorknob. Gaara's eyes met mine for a split second, and though no words had been spoken, I understood what he was telling me. He wasn't going to let her hurt me. With my heart fluttering, whether it was due to Gaara's looks or the fear of meeting my mother again, I wasn't sure. I guess if I didn't do it now I'd be running from her forever.

The house was empty. Completely empty. No furniture was left; it seemed to be just an empty room. It took a few moments for me to gather together the information to realize what exactly had happened.

She moved. She was long gone, off to where, I wasn't sure. And I honestly didn't seem to care as much as a child whose mother left her behind would. I suppose it was because with her disappearance I was truly free from her influence, but I wasn't very sure anymore. A lot of things had happened in such a short amount of time, and I felt as if trying to look into things for a deeper meaning would only confuse me more. They were things better left solved later, when I began to get things together a little better.

It felt weird to walk through such an empty house, especially with the other three warily waiting behind me. My steps were slow as I observed every little crevice, looking for anything that had been left. Nothing. Everything was clean; the downstairs was completely empty except for the cabinets and counter in the kitchen. I slowly ascended the stairs, not sure why I was even bothering. Things were bound to be in the same sort of situation, right?

The room to the guest bedroom, Sayune's room, was slightly ajar, waiting for me to explore. It was in the same condition as it had been when I had first left. The room was clean; a small brown journal was lying where her pillow must've been originally. I picked it up, scanning the front page. It was definitely Sayune's, but what was it for? On the front 'Letters' was written out rather messily.

I frowned, sitting down on the bed and opening the book. It was full of letters, long ones all written by Sayune. They were addressed to various people, some being me, some being my mother, her parents, and her sister. One was signed with Haru's name. I stopped and stared for a second, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I wanted to read the first one addressed to me.

'_Dear Kaylyn,_

_Why did you leave me? Why did you have to go? You promised to be with me forever, you promised you'd stay with me and help me train. And you're gone now and I don't know what to do. Every day I wake up and I realize you won't be at the training grounds with me. I realize I won't see you, or have any sort of communication with you. It's tearing me apart._

_Sometimes I get so angry and I don't know why. I don't understand my feelings right now, and I don't think I ever will. I want you to be happy and I'm glad you're moving away from these bad memories, but I'm selfish. I want you to stay because you kept away my bad memories. You kept away the bad things that'd haunt me at night. You kept away the nightmares._

_Now that you've left, they've come back. _

_I'm so scared. I'm so scared for the future without you. You're the only person who can ever understand how I feel. You always knew what I was thinking, remember? Remember how we'd finish each other's sentences to annoy Sensei, or to tease Miyuki… Do you remember the good times? I want to remember the good times, but my heart aches when I even think about them, because I know I'll never see you again._

_I know the bad memories will easily overcome the good. Because that's what bad things do, no matter how good anyone is, the bad will always find a way to take advantage. _

_It's different for you though, isn't it? It's different because you care so much about other people, helping them comes so easily to you. And when you help them, you're happy. And when you're happy, I was happy. We were such good friends. _

_And now you're gone. I don't know what to do without you. It's as if you've died even though a part of me knows you're only a few days away. It just seems so far, you know? I'm just sorry for the things I didn't say to you before you left. _

_My mother wanted me to start writing to letters every time I had something to say to someone and this is why I wrote it. There are so many things I want to say to you, some good and some bad. I doubt I'll ever send this, or that you'll ever see it, but I guess that's not the point. The point is to write down my thoughts and that's what I'm doing. _

_I love you. You are one of the most important people in my life and the one thing you gave me was hope. Hope for the future and hope that maybe I could be like you. I wanted to live again, to feel that happiness I felt when I was with you. We were best friends; we could always count on each other. You can still count on me. Because if we didn't talk for years, and you suddenly sent me a letter saying you needed help, I'd drop everything to help you._

_No matter what happens you deserve to be happy. Even if you haven't noticed it, you have done so much for me. And I don't think I can ever make it up to you. I think that every day I'll see you and instantly be jealous, because I'll never know what it's like to have such a big heart._

_But do you wanna know the worst part of it all? I never got to say goodbye, so I guess I'll say it in this letter, and pretend you'll see it._

_Goodbye, my friend, if you ever need me I'll always be here. I'm only a small trip away._

_Love, Sayune'_

'_You aren't only a trip away now, are you?'_ I thought bitterly, my frown growing deeper. I could remember the day I left like it had just happened yesterday. I hadn't gotten to say goodbye to anyone, my mother had made sure of it. We had left within a day's notice, not wishing any neighbors farewell. I hadn't realized how quickly things had gone by at the time, but now that I had time to breathe I was beginning to realize how abruptly I had disappeared.

It was completely my fault that Sayune had lost sight of the hopes she had, perhaps if I had the chance to speak to her again… Maybe I would be able to help her. It was too late now, and it was another regret to lie on the pile.

Gaara was standing in the doorway, his eyes focused on me. Sometimes I found his solid stare rather intense, however it was comforting now. Nothing would get past his eyes, which made me feel as if I was safer in his presence. I began to walk past him, my shoulder gently brushing his own. I could feel him flinch, as he still didn't seem used to the touch of another person that wasn't trying to inflict some sort of pain on him.

"Coming?" He nodded wordlessly, which by now I was used to. His silence was comforting, since there wasn't much to say to improve upon the situation. My room was in the same condition, untouched since the mess. It was empty of all pictures, and even the torn clothes were gone. There was nothing left in here but old, bitter memories. I turned around, heading out again after closing the door and sighing.

"I think we're done here." I nodded at him. "We should be on our way then, shouldn't we?" He nodded, leading the way outside to where Kankuro and Temari were waiting. Temari grinned, patting my shoulder as her and I led the way back to the Hokage's office.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I can't believe you're leaving!" Naruto whined, pouting. "And with them, of all people!"

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun, I'm sure we'll keep in touch." I leaned forward, hugging him tightly. He nodded his head, although I was waiting for him to burst into tears like a newborn child. After saying farewell to Sakura and a choice few others, I turned to look at the village gates.

Konoha had brought me new memories, but good times had to end. My first priority now was heading back to the Waterfall and informing Miyuki of the tragedy that her family would have to endure. I was conflicted in my journey, for that meant leaving Gaara behind again.

The Sand ninja had agreed to travel with me to my hometown, Temari remarking that she didn't trust me on my own yet. The Waterfall was far from the Sand, but even Gaara seemed to agree that escorting me would be for the best. It was a three day trip, sure, but I wish it had lasted longer. The nights spent looking up at the stars, and exchanging friendly chit chat with Temari and Kankuro was an interesting experience on it's on.

One night, Temari and Kankuro had called it early, heading to their respective tents while I took care of the fire. Gaara sat high up in a tree, his unwavering gaze on the moon. I leaned up against the trunk of the tree, staring up at the moon along with him.

"You know I'll be staying with Miyuki for awhile, to make sure she stays safe…" I stated softly, looking up at him. He didn't look back at me, but nodded his head.

"…I know."

"But just like when we were younger, I'll come back, alright? I don't know how long it'll take, but don't forget about me!" I remarked playfully, giggling into my hand. I blinked in surprise as sand began to swirl in front of me; Gaara emerged from it, eyes locking with mine.

"I never did."

**Authors Note: **That's the end of Part 1, dearies~ Hope you enjoyed the first part of the story! Don't worry, the second arc will soon begin, and gaps will be filled in as that arc progresses. Remember, reviews are very inspiring! ;)


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